Dream Come True
by AllArtAnimeLover
Summary: My name is Kirihara Yuzuru, adopted sister of Hibari Kyouya and secret admirer of Sawada Tsunayoshi. My gift is my curse, but it won't stop me from living to the fullest. The only problem? Assassins who have no idea that messing with me, is like signing your death. Mess with my loved ones and live, or die, with the consequenses. Don't think I won't know, because that is my curse...
**A/N – * turns around from her seat* Ah, hello there! It's been a while and I know that I really, really shouldn't be doing this (upload a new story) but to be honest, I started this story even before my other one 'Time Paradox' but I never finished it. I had a hard time writing through this story, but I eventually finished it! Initially I figured 'Meh, how long could this possibly be?' Uhm, turns out that I can't write short stories to save my life, so this story is 58 pages in Word and has nearly 38,000 words...**

 **Warnings: Uhm, well fair warning; Hibari Kyouya will be majorly out of character. Seriously, you might have to imagine someone entirely else when thinking of 'Hibari Kyouya from KHR'. I am seriously not kidding... I started off trying to get a more canon-Hibari but that quickly changed. He gets more OOC as the story goes on. I had fun doing it, but if you dislike reading about a Hibari Kyouya actually caring about someone, then you might want to retreat while you still can. Maybe some tears but I hope you'll forgive me. Also VERY important: Shounen-ai, and implied improper thoughts... Be warned!**

 ***Edit 7-8-16; I started this story initially with the idea to split it up, but in the end I decided to just make everything one chapter, sorry for those that prefer multiple chapters, but this is what I decided and I hope you won't mind***

 **Disclaimer: Do I have to? We all know that KHR doesn't belong to me, why rub salt in my wounds? *hides in a dark corner* *springs to life with a happy face* Yuzuru-chan and the Hibari Family sans Kyouya does belong to me though!**

* * *

A Dream Come True

What would you do if your biggest dream was to meet THE most amazing person ever? Of course depending on who the most amazing person ever in your eyes is, meeting them would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. In my case it really was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I met him once, got to know him a little better and after that I wasn't able to spend a lot of time with him; I didn't get the chance to. My life was too short.

What would you do if everything you knew just disappeared all of a sudden? Everything that you thought you knew just changed into something you do not recognize. I wouldn't want to think of it and I had hoped it would've never had to happen to me; it did and I am so pissed off at myself. I triggered it, yet it wasn't my fault. It just had to happen to someone and I was the unlucky pick.

What would you have changed, had you known what the future would entail for you? Would you have changed anything or just let it be? Some things, I feel, were meant to happen the way they did. Other things I hoped I could have told or done differently. It is a pity; we don't know what will happen in the future. Therefore I do not believe in a second chance. You know that whatever it is you choose, you choose knowing that it might change the future you were planning on building. I don't think you should regret the choices you make; if things were supposed to happen, they would've happened regardless of the circumstances.

My case is exactly the same. Now I know you're thinking "What the hell are you talking about? What is this bull about things you can't ever change and why the heck are you even thinking like this?" I'll tell you now so hush, don't interrupt me.

I want to go to the same school as Sawada Tsunayoshi, I have gone to the same preschool and elementary, though I wasn't allowed to enter middle school. I have had the opportunity to watch Tsunayoshi grow and I am proud of him, even though he has no idea who I am or that I even exist. Never minding not going to the school, I always looked out for him. Ever since I was young, I had wanted to befriend the little tuna, but I was too afraid of what I might change in Tsunayoshi when he would befriend me. I knew relations, regardless of friendships, family or the thing called a love-relationship, would end in tragedy for both parties.

I have a disease, it's one that runs in the family and with every generation the genes become stronger, until it is too strong and kills the host before they have any chance of growing older than twenty or starting a family. I was afraid that I would ruin the lovely boy if he were to ever come in contact with me or my family. Already having lost my parents when I was you and grandparents way before I was born, the only family I have left is my adoptive family; they were friends of my parents. I love them dearly even though the males are all very stoic and have a hard time showing they care. They are able to surprise me all the time; though they are stoic and show no emotion, my brother and father love me dearly and are very protective of me and my mother. Even now it makes me giggle of how awkward they can be when they do not know how to react to either of our womanly tantrums.

If Tsunayoshi were to ever come to care about me, in any way, there would be no doubt that he would change from the way he is now. This is why I made it my life goal to search for potential friends for Tsunayoshi. Without him knowing of course, because if he were to find out what I was doing for him he would try to befriend me. I didn't want that, yet.

But things have been rough for me lately, though Tsunayoshi has been getting friends of his own accord, I was glad that I could help him a little by sending an anonymous telepathic dream-call to a certain hitman and hot-headed bomber. I feel bad for going as far as messing with the baseball idiot's equipment so that he would get injured, but I knew Tsunayoshi would save him. I didn't need to try very hard with my brother; he agreed on the spot. He said "everything for my little sister" even though it was very out of character for him. He calls himself a carnivore, however only when he is with me, he allows himself to be an herbivore, as he knew I loved him when he showed me his emotions. I loved him regardless but it was nice knowing a side to him no one else, not even our parents, knew of or ever saw.

I didn't plan for children to get involved, because I knew that whatever Tsunayoshi was going to associate himself with, it was going to be dangerous. He had always had this kind of aura around that screamed 'come to me, I accept all' and frankly that scared me a little, but it also made me feel at peace. Even though Tsunayoshi would be in danger and there would no doubt be casualties of people he knew, there would be happiness and laughter most of the time.

I do not feel any particular kind of remorse for the choices I have made regarding Tsunayoshi's friends; it would have happened even if I hadn't stepped in and helped. Apart from the hitman, the bomber, the baseball fanatic and my big brother, I didn't help Tsunayoshi in any way. He grew over the months with the help of his friends and his tutor. I had no idea that he had seen me multiple times over the years, as his hyper intuition had been bugging him whenever I was around. He didn't tell me about his hyper intuition, but he said he had a feeling. I knew about him through my brother of course, so I did know what he was talking about. I was about to find out though, that he had noticed me as I literally collided with him. I was so surprised by the fact that I actually came face to face with one of the people I adore, have adored for a long time, that I fainted, of shock, on the spot. I have no idea what happened after that or what is going to happen now, as I feel that I am waking up right now. So I will be telling my story as I go. No knowing what is going to happen as of now, sorry, you'll have to put up with me.

* * *

~K.Y.~

"Oh, thank god you're waking up! I was worried I did something without noticing it. What happened?" I hear a voice ask me. _He was worried about me? Where am I?_ Tsunayoshi looks at me with a surprised face. "Uhm, you're at my place. You suddenly collapsed and I didn't know what to do, so uhm, I took you with me. I also don't know where you live, or your name, so I couldn't exactly do anything but take you with me. My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, and you?" "Kirihara Yuzuru" "Well then, Kirihara-san, can you tell me what happened and where you live? So I can take you home." "Oh no that is not necessary, Sawada-san, my b-" "Please call me Tsuna or Tsunayoshi, if you were to say Sawada I wouldn't know who you're talking about." Tsunayoshi says with a smile. "Okay, Tsunayoshi-san" _So she will use honorific with me huh?_ "Thank you for the offer, but I am sure that if I were to call my brother he would come and get me," I say. "Oh really? That's a relief!" he says, relief evident on his face. _Why would he worry about me?_ "Why are you worried about me?" I ask. He looks at me like I'm crazy. "I couldn't exactly leave you there! I had a feeling that if I had left you there, something bad would happen to either you or me," he explains to me.

I just look at him like 'wha-' and then shake my head. I should have known; Tsunayoshi has always been like this. "Well in that case; thank you very much!" Tsunayoshi just smiles at me at which I smile back. "Uhm, this may seem weird to ask, but in what year and class are you Tsunayoshi-san?" I ask. "I'm in class 3-A, right now. Why?" he answers. "No reason," I say with a nonchalant tone. He narrows his eyes in suspicion, but doesn't comment on my behaviour. "Is it okay to call my brother now?" "Yeah, sure. I'll go get the phone," he says with a smile. "Thank you. Oh and when he comes to get me please don't say anything about what happened. He tends to get a little to over-protective of me," I say sheepishly. "Okay, but what do I say then? I don't think lying is a good thing, but what excuse would be believable?"

"Uhm, oh I know! Just tell him I was out to buy him a present, but I couldn't find anything suitable. When I was going to return home I got lost and started feeling really lonely. Then you came and picked me up. Don't you think that is close enough to the truth?" I say, feeling rather good about my made-up story. "That could actually work. Not to be rude but who is your brother?" he asks, curiosity lacing his voice. "Kyouya!" I answer with as much sparkle as I can. I snicker internally as I see his face pale. "You, you wouldn't h-happen to mean H-Hibari K-Kyouya, right?" he asks trying to convince himself. "Hmm, the one and only!" I answer with glee. "I-I see, okay I'll go a-and get the phone and something to drink, s-so please wait for a minute okay?" He quickly turns and leaves. The moment he is gone, I laugh out loud. Not loud enough to be heard downstairs, but louder than I have in a long time. My sickness usually prevents me from laughing too much. Suddenly an idea pops up into my head. I haven't been to school for four years now, as my parents didn't think it would be a good idea for me to enter middle or high school. Of course Kyou-nii was really disappointed I wouldn't go to the same school as him. Naturally he didn't show it, but I could see the sadness in his eyes. Maybe I could go now, I mean it's not like my sickness will get cured or get worse so, nothing lost nothing gained right? I'll ask my parents when I get home.

* * *

~S.T.~

Kirihara-san sure is a strange girl. I had noticed her more than once when something had happened. When Hayato came to my school for example. I only learned a year later, a YEAR later, that it wasn't Reborn who had called him first. He said a soft voice had called out to him, in a dream I think he said it was, and it had told him he had to pack his most precious belongings and get out of the house as soon as a certain hitman had called him. He hadn't understood what the voice had meant, but when Reborn had called him, he knew he had to leave.

Reborn too told me that he had the same experience and coming from the number one hitman, who almost couldn't believe it himself, and who would never believe in such things unless he felt that it would be a matter of life and death. He said a soft voice had told him who he needed to call and who would need his help in the future. Being the suspicious guy he is, of course Reborn doubted the voice. He could feel though that the voice was kind and had no ill intention whatsoever. So when he called Hayato and Hayato answered with 'you must be a "certain hitman" no?' Reborn, he told me, immediately trusted the voice.

I personally think it is highly suspicious, especially when this so called 'soft voice' knew what was going to happen. Then again, I have Hyper Intuition and Yuni can see the future. Byakuran can travel through dimensions and Reborn is an experienced hitman in a baby body. So, all in all, I've heard of stranger things.

Then with Takeshi. I mean, sure it was his own decision, he said, but that didn't stop me from having the feeling there was more to it than the accident just breaking his arm by practicing too hard. When I figured out what the nagging feeling had been, I immediately went and searched for the baseball bat Takeshi had been using when he broke his arm. Thank whatever god is out there, that the school was so cheap on equipment and that they still had the bat. I noticed it was holed out from the inside and a strange liquid coming out of it. Thinking it might be poison I had asked Bianchi. She said it was a tranquilizing kind of mixture. Home-made and done to perfection. Not a single dose was out of proportion. I was surprised and Bianchi told me that whoever made this had no intention of killing or numbing the whole body, just the part the mixture would come in contact with. I knew though that the incident was over and bringing Takeshi's suicide up again after more than a year was bad taste so I had let it be.

Hibari-san's case I wasn't even going to bother trying to analyse as I feel his interaction with me is personal. If I want to get answers I will have to come to him for the correct ones. After Hibari-san had started to interact with me, my intuition stopped going off when I made more friends and I figured it must be because I had made them myself by initiating contact instead of them coming to me. After a while though, it started playing up again and every time I would look in the direction my intuition send me to look, the only thing I would see was a lot of people and a small girl. She looked around 12 years old and the way she was dressed always made her look like she was very fragile. Her hair looked soft, like it was made out of silk and the colour was an even lighter shade of purple than Byakuran's eye colour.

Her eyes though, her eyes told a different story. The only way I was able to recognize the girl looking at me as someone who was the same age as me if not older, was because of the story her eyes told. Her eyes were pale, yet had a strong colour grey mixed up in them. Her eyes were sad, so full of sadness that I almost cried the first time I looked at her. They were so full of hurt and kindness that it made me wonder what she had been through. In all of those emotions the two that stood out the most were acceptance and determination. I think I almost fell in love with her, even though I had no idea who she was. And even though... I already... h-have someone I ... love.

I now have a name for her though; Kirihara Yuzuru. I don't know what I expected, but I hadn't expected a name that sharp yet soft. It suited her; when I told her I had taken care of her, she looked so flabbergasted I doubted that she even knew what it meant to be taken care of. However when she told me about her brother I kind of got why she had no idea why anyone would help her; it's not that no one wants to, it's that no one gets the chance to. It makes me happy to know she has a loving family.

When she mentioned Hibari-san, my heart stopped though. She had to know what effect his name would have on me, as she kept on taunting me with her eyes. They had been glistering with so much mischief and warmth, that I almost felt like I might have found myself a second Reborn/Hibari-san.

As I pick up the phone and put some iced tea in a glass, I look at the calendar. Then it hits me, in three days it would be May 5th, Hibari-san's birthday. It would make the lie very believable. My heart becomes a little lighter when I felt that I wasn't necessary lying, I mean, I think she really had been shopping for Hibari-san. As I walk up the stairs to my room, I hear laughter coming from my room. It was soft and I think Kirihara-san was trying not to be too loud, but the closer I get to my room, the more I feel like she rarely laughs. It makes me sad to think that she doesn't laugh a lot. Then a thought comes to me; what if she would be my friend. That would mean that, just like with everyone else, we could laugh as much as we want with each other and others. At that childish thought my Hyper Intuition, which has been bugging me like a numbing toothache for a very long time, quiets down. Almost as if being friends with her is exactly what I am supposed to do.

I calm myself down and knock on my door, alerting Kirihara-san that I was already back. The laughter immediately stops. It is sad, but I can kind of get why she doesn't like to laugh around others. "I have some iced tea for you and here is the phone," I say as I walk into the room. I give her the phone and she accepts the drink and phone, giving me a silent thank you.

"Yes, I'm at Tsunayoshi-san's house." "..." "You know who I mean! Sawada Tsunayoshi. And no, it's no because something bad has happened, if that is what you're thinking." "..." "I'm sorry, I know I should have told you, but I didn't want you to find out what I was going to get you! It is called a BIRTHDAY present for a reason you know?" "..." "Argh, you can be so unreasonable sometimes!" As I watch Kirihara-san's interaction with our phone, I laugh in amusement. She keeps shooting me warning glances, that I shouldn't make fun of her or mention this phone call to anyone. Giving her a reassuring smile, she concentrates on the phone call again. I never knew Hibari-san could be so fond of someone else, huh, some information gained.

"Pff, he can be such a handful sometimes," she says. I look at her with amusement visible in my eyes. "I never knew Hibari-san could be that fond of someone. Then again, you do resemble a small animal, and he does love little animals," I mused to myself. Now it was her turn to look at me with amusement. "What is it?" I ask her. She shakes her head. "No, nothing. I just didn't think you knew that about him. Most people don't even notice that. Ah! Is this a romance I can feel?" she asks me with a playful tone. "Wha- no, no that is not it!" I try to say. However as I can feel my cheeks warming up, I don't think she believes me. "Yeah~ that is very convincing, Tsunayoshi-san!" she chirps. "Don't worry, I won't tell him or anyone, so rest assured. In fact I want to help you," she says with glee. I know I should feel reassured, however her smile holds a certain glint to it. I mentally shiver; I've seen those eyes before and it never ended well. Then again that glint had belonged to Reborn. Maybe she would be a little milder on me..?

We had been talking for about 30 minutes, when the bell rang. Kirihara-san's ears perk up, like a cat's I might add, and she sits straight. I snicker to myself before I go downstairs to open the door to let Hibari-san in, wouldn't want to bother mom into buying a new door, again. "Good evening Hibari-san. Kirihara-san is in my room, waiting for you, patiently too," I say with a smile. I am ready to tell him the lie Kirihara-san and I had prepared, but one look at his face and I can see that he is genuinely worried for her. It seems that she doesn't just appear fragile; if Hibari-san looks that worried she must be fragile. "She collapsed when we walked into each other and she passed out for three hours. She didn't want to worry you, so she and I made up an excuse for you. Please don't get too mad at her," I say to him. His worried look turns into one of understanding, a little anger and, dare I think it, gratitude. I smile in return and lead him up to my room.

* * *

~K.Y.~

The moment Kyou-nii walks into Tsunayoshi's room I know he knows. I look at him, meeting his eyes head on. We then have a staring contest. Out of the corner of my eye I see Tsunayoshi sweat drop at the scene. I break contact with Kyou-nii and turn a smirk towards him. I see him shiver and he notices me smirking at him. I love the sight of Tsunayoshi shivering and paling at the thought of an embarrassing or painful experience. However I'm not that cruel. I first need to come up with a plan. I meant it, when I said I would help Tsunayoshi in winning Kyou-nii's heart. I know that when I am gone, Kyou-nii is going to take it the hardest; he is going to need to have someone by his side. Someone who understands him and will always be there for him. Someone who is a little like me yet completely different.

"We're going home Yuzuru," Kyou-nii says to me. I smile and nod my head. "Okay, but before we go there is something I still need to tell Tsunayoshi-san. Is it okay if you wait downstairs? It will only take 2 minutes," I plead with puppy eyes. Knowing he is reluctant, yet he can't say no to me, he nods his head and leaves. I turn to look at Tsunayoshi with expectant eyes. "Don't worry I will help you!" I say winking at him. I chuckle as his cheeks redden. I walk down stairs and I can hear Tsunayoshi walking behind me. I smile to myself. Step one: Make sure Tsunayoshi doesn't forget you are his ally; check!

As we walk into the hall Kyou-nii looks up to us and shoots me a questioning look. I turn around and see that Tsunayoshi is still very red. I turn back and give him a knowing look, telling him there is something he doesn't know (yet). He looks at me with interest but also, dare I say it?, jealousy. I squeal to myself. I got his attention! So did Tsunayoshi. Then I smirk to myself; this is going to be a fun project. My thought turns sad as I realise it would probably my last project.

On the bright side; I am now friends with Tsunayoshi. It is a shame he won't love me as anything but a sister, I would have loved to have a lover like my tuna, however I feel as if the feelings I have for him are nowhere near his feelings for Kyou-nii. I don't remember him ever feeling this strong for Sasagawa-san. Huh, I guess Kyou-nii just stuck to him.

"We're home!" I call. "Welcome back you two!" my mom answers back. "Hn," is all Kyou-nii ever says, I guess. "Mom? Is dad home?" I ask. "He will be soon. Why?" she asks. "I have something to talk about," I answer with a serious face. Seeing my face, my mother looks me straight in the eye; her eyes were a clear blue. They are warm most of the time and they hold a certain strength, but sadness when she remembers my parents. When her babies are in trouble, though, her eyes turn an icy blue, so cold even my dad is afraid of her. Those eyes I have seen more than once, though not directed at me. She became a lioness when Kyou-nii or I were in danger.

I love her so much, and I appreciate everything she has done for me. As she looks me in the eye, I can see the many emotions running through them; love, hope, sadness, regret, loneliness, determination and pride. It amazes me just how much one person can feel at the same time. "Okay, once he is home, I'll tell him. In the meantime young lady, go take a bath and take your medicine," she says to me. I smile. "Roger, boss," I saluted cheekily. She merely rolls her eyes and pretends she didn't hear anything. Laughing, I head up the stairs into the bathroom, ignoring Kyou-nii on purpose. Ahh~ how I love being the one to handle the story!

* * *

~H.K.~

I sometimes do wonder how it is possible for her to wrap me around her finger like that. I only realise now that she is planning something and I have a feeling it may include me and a certain omnivore. Speaking of him, he was acting rather strange today. Though I have to admit, the red hue on his cheeks really becomes him. When he opened the front door, I noticed just how much he had grown over the past two years. It must have been the little lighting by his front door, but his eyes, that used to be so big, had narrowed quite a lot, they still held an innocence I didn't think anyone could still have after everything he had seen. His skin was still silky and even though a little scarred underneath his shirt, flawless nonetheless. And his hair was still defying all laws of gravity. I wonder how his locks of chocolate brown hair would feel in my touch.

When he confessed to me about what had really happened I felt gratitude towards him, that he told me the truth about what had happened made me feel agitated for some reason, but happy nonetheless; that he dared to be honest with me. It takes guts to lie to me, but even more to tell me the truth. I understood what had happened; Yuzuru often asked about Sawada and even though it irked me, it made me feel curious as to why she wanted to know so much about him, but not let him know about her. It was one of the reasons I accepted her request to join Sawada in his mafia-world; I want to know why she is so interested in him.

The other reasons... are for me to keep. When Sawada told me she fainted after bumping into him, I figured she must have been too shocked to handle the situation and her body must have shot down. I wanted to tell him that it often happened, but that would raise unnecessary questions; ones that were not mine to answer. I felt anger at Sawada for being the reason she fainted; even though he doesn't know it. Angry at Yuzuru for not being careful enough; she should be glad she just fainted and didn't break anything, or worse. But mostly angry at myself for not being there when it happened. I know I couldn't have done anything to prevent it; it would have happened even if I had been there; she just adores the 'little tuna-fish', as she likes to call him, too much to not overflow with emotions when she is unprepared to see him.

I'm not even going to bother thinking about what happened in Sawada's room, it's something Yuzuru and I do a lot when we're together. I am wondering about the glances and smirks that were shot towards Sawada and his reaction towards them; it made me curious what they both were up to. However, when Yuzuru asked for a private conversation, I knew her plan involved me and him. I don't know what she is planning, but I hope, I really do, that whatever it is she is doing, she doesn't screw up. I feel like it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"I'm home," is the first thing my father says when he returns. "Welcome back dear," my mother answers. When he looks at me, I stare back at him and we have a quiet conversation. My mother just sighs and rolls her eyes at us and our behaviour. "Hibari-men," she says. I smirk at that; if only she knew I inherited half of both sides. She would squeal at how Yuzuru and I act when we're together; she would glomp me down and coo over us as if we were herbivorous babies. A little disgusted at the mental image, I shudder and shake my head. "Dear, Yu-chan has something to discuss with us. So when she is done with her bath and comes downstairs make sure she has our full attention, okay?" she asks with a smile. The fact that she says it to my father alone and not to the both of us, makes me feel a little empty; the hint was clear though: after Yuzuru is done, you get in the bath. I roll my eyes at her antics; she can just say it if she doesn't want me to be present at their conversation. I drink the last bit of tea that was in my cup and I head upstairs, readying myself to take a shower; a long one it seems.

* * *

~K.Y.~

"What is it you wanted to talk to us about, Yu-chan?" mom asks. "...," and my dad doesn't say anything as usual. I sweat drop at dad's behaviour, before turning serious. "I have a favour to ask you," I say. Dad's face becomes even more stoic than normal, but I can see pain and hesitation in his eyes, already guessing what my request will be. Mom's smile becomes a little strained, but it is still a true smile nonetheless, her eyes turn a little darker, also understanding what my request is. "I want to go to school," I say breaking the ice.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as I thought back to the conversation my parents and I had. It came as no surprise to me that my mom was against it. My dad, however, was with me on my request. He had been quiet the whole time during the conversation between me and mom, but when mom said to tell me exactly why it was so dangerous to go to school, he said this: "You may go. I understand why you want to go to school. You're sixteen now, with not much time left. I'm surprised you never asked to go to school any earlier. I think that going to school is much safer than going shopping, too by the way." I had never, ever heard dad say a sentence so long and with so much conviction.

I could see the pain in his eyes when he said I didn't have much time left, but he understood why I wanted to go. My mom had started to cry when he had said all that, probably because she knew she couldn't deny my request when I thought like that. As dad took mom in his arms, I too cried silently, smiling and thanking him. I stood up, gave mom a kiss on the forehead and dad one on his cheek. After that I headed upstairs and slumped down on my bed, where I am still lying now. It is now 11.35 pm, but I can't sleep. Whether it is the happiness or the realisation of it all, I don't know. And frankly I don't think I can still care at this moment. I am tired and I want to sleep, but my mind keeps me awake. I sit up in bed and decide to go to Kyou-nii's room, maybe then I'll be able to sleep.

I think Kyou-nii saw me coming, because when I knock on the door ever so quietly, he opens it looking like he hasn't slept yet. "Can I come in?" I ask. He nods and holds the door open for me. "Thank you," I say as I walk towards the cushions laid out for me. I smile softly, yet sadly at that thought; he always cares and does so much for me, yet I am going to bring him so much pain. "Do you want to tell me what you were talking about with mom and dad?" he asks me in a soft voice. I nod and sign for him to sit next to me. As he sits down I take a hold of his hand and squeeze it once. Then I tell him my story. "I was thinking, once again, about how I haven't got much time left." At this Kyou-nii squeezes my hand with a pained expression on his face. "So I made mom and dad a last request."

It is quiet for a while, before I start again. "I told them that I want to go to school." As I say it I felt Kyou-nii squeeze my hand before letting go and hugging me. As I feel his warmth embrace me, I cry again. I hug him back and softly cry into his shoulder. As we sit still and hug each other, I notice that my shoulder is a little wet too; I guess Kyou-nii also couldn't keep in the sadness and happiness of my situation. "Have you already decided when you're going to go to school?" he asks me. "I want to start as quickly as possible. So maybe after the weekend? It's Saturday now, so Monday would be a great start," I say. He hums in approval and rubs my back. As I start to feel drowsy, I ask him before I fall asleep if it's okay to be in class 3-A. I don't hear anything, I just feel him rubbing circles on my back, until I'm asleep. I have to say, he does an amazing job as an older brother.

I wake up to the sunlight shining on my face. I slowly stretch myself as I look at my alarm clock. It reads 9.56 am, Monday. Hmm? Monday...? Oh Shit! I slept a whole day?! Oh no, I'm late! As I hurry to undress myself, I notice the uniform of Namimori middle school hanging from my closet. When I walk to it, I see a note on the desk in my room. "I wanted to tell you to be at school before lunch, you'll be introduced during fifth period, unless you're here earlier than lunch, so be at my office before then." is all it said. I give a huge sigh of relief. I don't think I'd be able to stand being late for class on the first day of school. School, I'm finally going to school! Yes! I hum as I walk down the stairs. Mom is in the kitchen making my breakfast and dad is sitting at the kitchen table, drinking the last bit of his coffee and reading the newspaper.

We look like a normal family like this, but reality is so much different. Both mom and dad used to be in dangerous business (not the bad drugs-kind of business, I think...), before Kyou-nii was born and they won't tell Kyou-nii or me about it, but I have a feeling Kyou-nii already knows. Although nowadays dad works with the police force in a city much bigger than Namimori and much further away. It is much safer than his previous job, mom says, but she can't help but worry that their past might catch up to them. To which I say: "Namimori is protected by Hibari Kyouya, there is no safer town than Namimori. Even Fuuta says so." They both would look at me like 'Who is Fuuta' but they never say it out loud. Mom is now a fulltime housewife and I am grateful for that, otherwise I'd be home alone most of the time; and that is nowhere near safe for me...or the house.

"Good morning, mom, dad," I say as I walk in and sit at the dinner table. Dad hums his reply and mom turns around with a small smile on her face. "Good morning dear. I hope you're looking forward to school today?" she says as she sets the plate with roasted ham and eggs in front of me. I hear a ping, which gives my mother the sign the toast is ready. As she hands me the butter for the toast, she gives my hand a small squeeze. "When Kyou-chan came down this morning, he was humming with a small smile on his face. Of course when I had almost shot a picture of him he had to notice me and quickly put on his mask again. Ah~ why are all the Hibari-men so against emotions!" she complains. I just smile, knowing something she doesn't makes me feel really good. "So you told Kyou-chan that you are going to school?" I nod and stand up. When I'm standing, I slowly turn myself around until I did a full circle and show mom and dad the uniform I'm wearing.

It's one of the slightly older versions, as the skirt is a little longer than skirts I saw other girls wearing and not only was I wearing a blazer but also a (n unnecessarily) warm vest; talk about overprotective. Mom gives an applause and dad looks at me with pride. As I look at the clock I see that it is now 10.35 am, why does it take so much time for a girl to prepare herself when she has to go to school? So I eat everything in a hurry, to which my mom looks at me disapprovingly, but take the time drinking my hot tea. When I am ready to go it is a little after eleven. I put on my shoes and check my bag for my medication and textbooks, which had surprisingly already been prepared for the classes I had today. Then again, I had slept for a whole day, so it shouldn't really be a surprise that Kyou-nii did it for me. "I'm off!" I yell as I open the door and turn around. I see mom and dad looking at me with a lot of pride and a little bit of hesitation. My eyes soften as both mom and dad say "be careful".

When the school building comes into my line of vision, I start to get nervous. How should I introduce myself? What if they don't like me? Will I be in the same class as Tsunayoshi? Before I notice it I have reached the main entrance. Opening the door and stepping in, I take the time to take a look at my surroundings; the building is large and it no doubt means I am going to get lost at one point. Sweat dropping at my own worrisome ability to get lost in a school building, I take off my shoes and put on my indoor shoes. I don't think I already have a shoe locker, but then again my brother pretty much owns this school so there might already be a locker. I search for it and find it, next to Tsunayoshi's shoe locker. I look at it and stare with wonder. Maybe Kyou-nii already figured out more than he should. I muse at that thought; it doesn't necessarily need to be a bad sign though. It means he trusts Tsunayoshi enough to make him look after me, when he can't. I smile softly; how thoughtful my brother is. I am a hardcore Kyouya fan and if it weren't for the fact that I am his sister, although adoptive, that he is in love with Tsunayoshi and that I adore the tuna fish too much to break his heart by stealing Kyouya, I would've taken him a long time ago.

"Come in," I get as reply to knocking the door to Kyou-nii's office. I open the door and close it behind me. "I'm here, Kyou-nii! Mom was very happy this morning," I say. I laugh as I see his face turn from annoyance to displeasure. "I shouldn't have been so happy or obvious about it," he says. I snicker at his behaviour, it's so Kyou-nii-like. "Well I am now here and ready to hear about what the day entails for me," I say with a big smile. He gives me a small smile in return. "As requested, you'll be in class 3-A, together with Sawada Tsunayoshi." I start to squeal and I'm about ready to explode when he adds a condition. "You're going to have to tell him everything about yourself. I do not care when or how, but I want him to look out for you when I can't be near you. He has to know how to take care of you and he can't help you if he doesn't know of your condition. He has already proven himself to be a good caretaker for you," I make a displeased grunt at that request and choice of words, what am I? A pet that needs to be looked after? "and you have to stay clear of a certain pineapple illusionist," he says his face turning into one of the darkest looks he has ever shown me. I inwardly smirk at it. "Scared I'll fall in love with him," I say, teasing him. I see his face turn from dark to a very pale colour; I look at him in fascination. That is the first time I have seen him like that or see a face turn so pale! Hmm, I guess he really doesn't like the idea of me falling for the illusionist. "..." "I'm only joking, Kyou-nii! You know I would never fall for someone you don't approve of!" He looks a lot better now that he has my reassurance. "If you're done with pestering me, let's get your timetable inside that head of yours," he says a little irritated that I am able to get him that riffled up. "Aye, sir," I say smiling.

* * *

~S.T.~

As we are halfway through fourth period the principal comes into our classroom and whispers something to Nezu-sensei. "Okay, I understand," is what he says with a rather pale face. The news the principal brought has to be more than troubling. "Quiet everyone! Ahem, I would like to introduce a new student. Please welcome her. You can come in, Kirihara-san!" the teacher says. I look up in excitement. Hibari-san had come to me this morning with a request, more like an order because I didn't really have a say in it. He told me to take care of Yuzuru for him. I didn't really get it at first, but then it downed on me that she would most likely transfer to this class. It appears I am right. "I-it's nice to m-meet you all. My name is Kirihara Yuzuru. I h-hope we'll get along well." I'm almost squealing at her introduction.

Even though I just met her this Saturday, I feel like I have known her for a very long time, I just can't help but love her. Of course as a sister, as Hibari-san is my secret ((?) Apparently not so much a secret anymore) crush. I wonder why she stuttered though, maybe she is afraid of strangers? But that doesn't make any sense, because until Saturday, I was a stranger too...maybe I'm over thinking things. I look around the classroom and find everyone squealing at her; I sweat drop at the scene. If only they knew whose sister she is! She looks adorable though, so it is no wonder; her light hair is braided in a low, messy braid. She has glasses on and her uniform is an older version, but it looks very good on her. I think Hibari-san picked this uniform on purpose, because the other uniforms are rather revealing, especially in summer; I feel with you Hibari-san.

"Okay then, as requested by a certain someone, your seat will be next to Sawada Dame-Tsuna. Sawada put your hand up!" the teacher says. I roll my eyes; there is no need to be so rude to me. I mean, I may have been a Dame-student in first year, but my grades have really improved! I'm not the only one who thinks so; Gokudera-kun looks about ready to explode and even Yamamoto seems to have picked up on the rude comment. The one who hits the teacher is neither of the two though, it's Kirihara-san. I have to say the girl can throw a very good punch; if it weren't for the fact that it was Nezu-sensei who got hit, I would've cringed at the impact it made. But it is Nezu-sensei and I almost laugh out loud at the reaction everyone has, it's so funny! "Sensei, I think you should be very careful about the way you say things. I may seem weak, but please remember what my brother told you. Also, please keep in mind that I know about I _that,_ " Kirihara says with an icy voice and is it just me or are her eyes glowing a little bit? I can feel a shiver run up my spine and judging by the way the rest of my class acts, they feel it too. "Am I making myself clear, sensei? You can be replaced by someone much more suitable, not to mention much more willing to treat every student equally, with as much as a snap of MY fingers. It's not a request, sensei, or advice; I am threatening you. Speak like a normal person to Tsunayoshi-san, or I can't promise you'll live your life this peacefully anymore," she adds. I am impressed. Never have I seen someone so full of confidence, speaking that way to a teacher. Apart from Reborn, Gokudera-kun and Hibari-san, but they just love to, unconsciously (?), make trouble for me.

Class resumes as normal, albeit very quiet and tense. I sweat drop as I see a gloomy atmosphere around Kirihara-san. I don't think she likes the idea of the whole class being scared of her. Writing a note to her, I drop it on her table. As she begins reading the note, I can see her gloomy atmosphere be replaced by a lot of sparkles. At the end of my, rather short I might add, note, there is a huge smile on her face. I'm glad a simple note made her feel better, although it only said 'do you want to have lunch with me and my friends? I'll introduce you properly'. Another weird person has joined my life.

As fourth period is nearing its end, I see that Kirihara-san is starting to get rather uncomfortable. She looks like she needs to use... ah she needs to use the toilet, but she doesn't want to leave at the end of class, so she waits until it has ended. That is what I call a diligent student! The bell rings and as soon as she hears it, Kirihara stands up and runs for the door. She almost trips on her feet and I let out a snort. She must have heard me, because she turns around to give me a pout. Then she remembers the reason she got up and she runs straight to the girl's restroom. "Who in the world is that girl, Juudaime? She seems to know you," Gokudera-kun asks. "She seems like a nice girl, right? Tsuna?" Yamamoto asks. "I met her last Saturday, when we collided with each other. She was shopping for a birthday present for her brother when we walked into each other and she collapsed all of a sudden. I freaked out and took her home with me. When she woke up we got to know each other. You're right, Yamamoto, she is a great girl. I can't shake the feeling she is in a lot of pain though," I add after answering their questions. "What do you mean by that?" Yamamoto asks. "Hmm, I can't really put my finger on it, but it is straining her both emotionally and physically. I feel like I can't cure it, but only soften it. That kind of pain." Gokudera-kun looks with his 'I-am-thinking-now-don't-bother-me' face and Yamamoto looks a bit lost. I don't blame him; I don't really get it myself, so yeah. "I invited her for lunch by the way and she looked really happy, so you can count on another person joining us. I'll properly introduce you two and Kyoko and Haru too, when we meet them," I say to them. They can't really go against me even if they wanted to so the decision has been made, but it looks like they both want to meet the person who, as introduction, hit a teacher for insulting me.

"There is another thing you should know about her. Her brother-," I start, but I get interrupted by Kirihara-san herself. "I'm sorry for the wait, I got...lost," she hesitantly says. Gokudera-kun snorts at that to which she gives him a kick to the shin. A hard one I might add. I laugh when Gokudera-kun falls to the floor, profusely cursing everything around us. Kirihara-san looks satisfied with the result and says: "You would be lost too, if it were your first time in a middle school in four years." I fall quiet at that and Kirihara-san seems to have noticed her slip of the tongue too, because her expression turns rather sad and regretful all of a sudden. Luckily, only I noticed the slip, as Yamamoto was busy trying to convince Gokudera-kun to have a doctor look at his shin. "Maybe you should listen to him, Gokudera-kun," "But Juudaime!-," he tries to say. "No buts! Kirihara-san might have damaged more than she wanted to, there might be a tear in it!" I reason with him.

I see him look at me with a difficult expression. He finally gives up when he realises that I might be right. I sigh as he refuses Yamamoto's help, even though he can't stand on his own. "I'll take him to the nurse's office, Yamamoto-san. It is my fault for kicking him in the shin, so don't worry. Why don't you and Tsunayoshi-san go first? I'll join you later," she says reassuring Yamamoto, but not me. Nor Gokudera-kun. I saw the glint in her eyes, before it disappeared when she closed her eyes and smile at us. I think Gokudera-kun also felt a small shiver, if not then it must be because he dislikes the idea of being helped by the one who hurt him. "O-okay, then we'll see you later?" I answer in reply. I hope you survive, Gokudera-kun. As Yamamoto and I walk to the stairs we hear a rather loud yell, coming from the direction we are walking away from. She must've done something to Gokudera-kun, haha...ha. "By the way, Tsuna?" "Hmm?" "I wonder why she calls you 'Tsunayoshi-san'." I just shrug at his question, I have no idea myself.

* * *

~K.Y.~

"How much of a baby can you be?" I ask dumbfounded. I barely touched his leg and he screamed bloody murder. "Shut it, you're the one who hurt me!" he exclaims. It is quiet after he says that. I consider telling him I knew exactly how hard I kicked him, that I could control my kicks to perfection, but decided against it. I had something far more important to discuss with him and this was the perfect moment. When I was passed out for the entire Sunday, it was with a reason.

You see, I tend to collapse a lot when there is mental strain on my mind. Quite literally. I mean to say that there are images, or there is information, flowing through my mind, coming from all over the world. However, when I'm awake my mind can't process the most important information and images and my body can't handle the processes in my mind, so I collapse; to protect my body from harm. Depending on how much information I have to process, I can stay unconscious for about a week. This was the longest I had ever been unconscious and during that time my parents died. The most important information and images about their death was exactly what I had to process when I was unconscious. The images I got when I was unconscious last Sunday included Tsunayoshi, Kyou-nii, a man I had never seen before and a toddler with a gun. The atmosphere had seemed tense and there was a lot of blood everywhere. I think they were discussing something very important. I didn't get the feeling that the man was the bad guy; I somehow know he was framed for a crime he didn't commit. I had to stop that from happening, because if that scene were to become reality then Kyou-nii would be unable to get away from depression; Tsunayoshi would die too. I don't want that.

"Gokudera-san, there is something I have to tell you," I say to him. He looks at me with disinterest. As he continues to ignore me, my patience starts to run out. "Listen here, Smoking Bomb, Hayato," that seems to get his attention, "who do you think it was that made you pack your most precious belongings and told you to leave when a certain hitman called you? Hmm?" The look on his face is priceless and I would have laughed if the situation weren't so serious. "Don't ask me why, or how, because there is no time for that right now. There has been trouble with the Vongola Family lately, yes?" I ask. He nods his head, confusion clear in his eyes. "I have to tell you that the person they think has committed the crime, is innocent. No matter how guilty he may act or seem, he didn't do it. This man will come to Japan and maybe even to Namimori. He is going to get in contact with Tsunayoshi-san. Things won't end well and there is a 99.99% chance that Tsunayoshi-san gets killed. I know I am not wrong, because I have had a whole day trying to see the possibilities, trying to change the outcome, but it always ended in Tsunayoshi either dying or horrifying wounded, which then leads to an underground war and Tsunayoshi dying from his wounds."

It is quiet and Gokudera-san looks absolutely horrified. I'm glad he seems to take the threat seriously. "Please, please help me. The only way to keep Tsunayoshi-san alive is to prevent this man from coming to Namimori and meeting Tsunayoshi-san. Will you help me?" I ask. Confusion and shock make place for determination and trust. "Of course, if it means protecting Juudaime, then there is no doubt I would help," he answers without a doubt. "Even, even if it meant you could very well lose your own life? Never mind stupid question," I answer my own question after seeing Gokudera-san's look of 'do-you-even-need-to-ask' on his face. "Okay, now the only other person to notify is Reborn-san," I say.

"We're back!" I shout at Yamamoto-san and Tsunayoshi. "How did it go?" Tsunayoshi asks. Before Gokudera-san can answer I say for him, "It went well, there is no fracture or tear and as long as he keeps rest for a couple of days, there should be no lasting complaints." It seems to satisfy both Yamamoto-san and Tsunayoshi, so Gokudera-san keeps his mouth shut. Even though I can see that he wonders why I can tell him what he has to do, without taking a look at his leg. Seeing realisation dawn in his eyes, he shoots me a look that says 'remember-this!' and I simply smile at him, feigning ignorance. I can be so sneaky sometimes. "Okay, well then. Let me introduce my friends. The one next to me is Yamamoto Takeshi, a baseball player, and a damn good one at that. The one sitting next to you is Gokudera Hayato, he has a bit of a bad temper, but he is loyal to his friends. Guys, this is Kirihara Yuzuru, but I'm sure you already got that," he smiles with an awkward smile, a little embarrassed that he is introducing us to each other.

I smile back kindly, as do the other two. "You can call me however fits you," Yamamoto-san says. "So you don't mind if I give you a pet name?" I ask innocently. He splutters an inaudible answer and I see Gokudera-san and Tsunayoshi sweat drop. "I'm only kidding," I say. His relieved face somehow pisses me off, so I add a "Maybe I wasn't." I may be a bigger sadist than I thought. "Take-kun, may I call you so? Thank you!" I ask, reply and thank him, even though I am very sure he doesn't exactly like 'Take-kun.' "Okay to make it fair, I'll give Gokudera-san also a pet name," I say. Ha! The look on his face was even funnier than Take-kun's expression. "What do you think about, Tako-chan?" In honour to his hairstyle. "No? Then I think Ha-chan will do just fine!" I say not really expecting an answer. "What do you think, Tsunayoshi-san?" I politely ask. I can just about see the sweat drop form behind his head, probably because he thinks that even without his content I would give them these pet names. I laugh seeing the scene in front of me; Tsunayoshi sweat dropping and Ha-chan and Take-chan with a gloomy atmosphere around them. It's been a while since I've felt this at peace with other people. But even this will come to an end...

* * *

~R.~

There has been a shift in power. I've felt it since last Saturday, I feel like a big thing has changed for Dame-Tsuna. And I'm not sure it's a good thing. It feels harmless, but I think this person will bring more pain and suffering than he or she wants to. Maybe I'll get to meet them soon.

I got my wish, but I never expected a small girl. "We're home, Reborn! Yamamoto and Gokudera-kun have come too. Also another friend of mine," Dame-Tsuna says. I'm surprised that he brought a girl other than Kyoko or Haru home. When I look at her I can feel the pain, suffering and sadness radiating off of her. I almost flinch when she smiles my way. I never expected her to smile so kindly, almost as if she can't feel the pain. But when she opens her eyes, I can see the pain in them. Her eyes look so sad and too old for someone who looks like she still has a whole life in front of her. The soft grey almost looks liquid and the emotions are nothing short of overflowing her eyes. She gives me the feeling that she already knows her end is nearing. I then realise that all the pain and suffering are connected to death; she is dying and fast. I almost want to jump in her arms and tell her it will be alright. The last time I felt like this was before I became a baby, even before I became a hitman. It's a feeling I never thought would resurface again after all these decennia.

"My name is Kirihara Yuzuru," Kirihara? No, she can't be their daughter, can she? That would be too much of a sad coincidence, "It is nice to meet you Reborn-san," she says. "Just Reborn is fine." "Then you may call me as you like too," she replies. "That's not what you said to us, though," Yamamoto mumbles. "Hmm? Did you say something, Take-kun?" Is it just me or was there a sinister glint in her eyes when she asked that. "No, nothing Yuzuru-san," he replies quickly. She has already gotten his guardians under her control? She is crafty, I'll give her that. "Tsunayoshi-san, there is something I have to tell Reborn, so don't wait for me when you get to your room," she says with respect. I'm amazed; she sure knows how to be polite to those who are worth it. "A-ah, okay, I'll make something to drink for all of us first, so you can take your time, okay?" he answers. So, Dame-Tsuna already trusts her enough to not even bother thinking about her request? Or he just doesn't realise how weird it is that a complete stranger has something to tell another complete stranger? I hope for the future of Vongola that it's the first and last time this happens; and for Dame-Tsuna's sake too...

"What is it that so desperately needs to be told?" I ask. "Before you start to wonder anything weird or make assumptions, I already know Tsunayoshi is in the mafia, the Vongola Famiglia's future boss." I'm surprised, "How do you know?" is the first thing I ask. "Well, you scouted my brother for the position of Cloud Guardian and it was a personal request from me, but enough of that, I can always tell you on another occasion. What comes now is of more importance. I already told Hayato about it, but I need more help." As I take in all the information, I see in her eyes that something has changed. She seems to recall something, so I don't bother her. She'll tell me when she is ready. "You are following a wrong trail," she says. I look at her with an expression that says 'explain'.

She sighs. "Something has happened in Italy, I know, but you're following the wrong suspect. He is innocent, although he may act or seem guilty. I have an ability that is similar to Yuni's ability to see the future, but it is more dangerous and life-consuming than hers, as my ability is a combination of Yuni, Tsunayoshi's Hyper Intuition and Byakuran's ability to get information from his other selves from parallel universes. I get information and images daily, but most of them are of no importance, so I immediately delete it. My mind gets rid of the information before I notice it even came in to prevent a shut-down of my body. Some information however may provide useful for future reference. So I unconsciously store them, however my body can't handle the strain put on my mind, so I collapse. This happens often and most of the time I store the information and images I need, unconsciously, somewhere in my mind to process them. The amount of time it takes to process it, depends on the cruelty level the information/images contain or the importance of it," she says.

"Last Saturday I shut down after I fell asleep and I woke up this morning, with information I didn't have when I fell asleep. I gathered the information and images about an incident that is going to happen in, give or take, three months. One that will kill Tsunayoshi." I listen without showing emotion. I already suspected something, but I had hoped I was wrong. "I trust you with your ability, for I have known others with it," I say. I see realisation dawn in her eyes. She knows I know. She nods her head. "I understand. I will tell you in full detail everything I saw and tried to change last Sunday, when I was unconscious."

I know her gift is a curse, but seeing the death and desperation of your loved ones, must be awful. When I tell her what I think about her gift, she smiles sadly at me and says 'I'm used to it'. That is wrong; there is no way anyone would be able to get used to seeing loved ones die, time and time again. The reason I became a hitman, was so that I would never have to see anyone I hold dear die again, because there wouldn't be anyone to hold dear. As I think about that, I realise that I had come to hold much more dear than I had wanted. There is no way I was going to let a student of mine die, because an 'innocent' suspect killed him with a clean shot through the head. "I am grateful you told me, now we can think of a plan," I say. She looks relieved, but... "Tsuna doesn't know you're dying, does he?" I see her stiffen at that. She hesitantly replies. "No, and even though Kyou-nii already told me to tell him, I still don't know how to tell him. Please don't tell him anything. I'm not going to tell him I am dying and won't be able to see my own brother graduate." So she only has a little more than a year left. "Just tell him your constitution is weak. I'm sure he has already noticed that you're fragile," I answer. She looks relieved she doesn't have the pressure of telling him she is dying. Even though I have a feeling Tsuna will find out anyway. And by the look on Yuzuru's face, I can see that she knows that too.

* * *

~K.Y.~

Now that I told Hayato and Reborn about the future I should feel reassured, but I am not. I feel bad, nauseous and sick thinking about the horrible images I went through time and time and time again last Saturday. I had seen it so many times that I could smell the blood and the stench just didn't disappear. I know Reborn knows about my parents and I am grateful he didn't bring them up. I feel bad enough as it is, I don't think I could handle bringing up my parents. I'm dying and I know that even though Hayato, Reborn and I are going to interfere, someone has to die. I know I'm supposed to still have a year left, before I die. But Tsunayoshi doesn't know he is going to die before me. I am prepared. Well not fully, but I still have about three months left to complete things. Then I can go, instead of Tsunayoshi. It's sad and heartbreaking, but if I have to die I think that dying in the place of someone I love, is better than waiting until my heart gives out and dying for nothing.

As I walk up the stairs I hear laughter coming from Tsunayoshi's room. Hoho~? So they are doing anything but homework, I see. Even though I still feel a little sick, I step over it and put a slight smirk on my face. I walk on my tiptoes and stop in front of Tsunayoshi's room. The door is slightly open. Before I decide to scare them, I stand still and eavesdrop on their conversation. I know it's bad, but I don't really care, now do I? "What do you think about Kirihara-san?" Tsunayoshi asks. Well, that is unexpected. I didn't think that they would be talking about me when I'm not there. Then again I'm not supposed to know this so... "What do you mean with that question, Tsuna?" Takeshi asks. "Well, I'm curious for your first impressions on her," he answers. That-...that I'm curious about too. Ooh, I want to know! "She is strange," is the first thing Hayato says. Why am I not surprised that _that_ is the first thing he says?

"Strange, how so?" Tsuna asks. "It's like she knows everything. She looks like she doesn't pay attention when you talk to her, almost like she is unconsciously recording what you're saying and when you ask her something about a subject she answers without paying attention," Hayato says, explaining what he meant. Oops, he is pretty damn close to the truth. As a side effect to my 'gift' I tend to look out of it. Which is not true, I always follow what a person is saying. It's just that I put a small barrier around my mind, so that I don't get to much information. Or information I don't think is something anyone wants to know. "What about you, Yamamoto?" "Me? I think she is different," he says. I get where he is coming from, just not what he is basing it on. Which also happens to be the same thing Tsunayoshi says. "She has that look of knowing, like Gokudera said, but to me it's a different kind of knowing. In a way she has the same eyes I used to have." I get a little scared at that, because _used to have_ means he doesn't anymore and the only difference between us now is that Takeshi doesn't think of dying anymore. I do.

Luckily neither Hayato nor Tsunayoshi notice it and I decide that it might be better to go into the room before things go too far. "Yo! I'm sorry for the wait," I say stepping into the room. I scare the living daylights out of them it seems as they all have their hand over their heart panting quite heavily. "What's this? Why are you acting like you've been caught in the middle of something you shouldn't have discussed?" I say, dropping the hint I heard them talking about me. Only Hayato seems to have caught on as I see his face pale. I smirk and add: "I'm sure that whatever you were talking about had nothing to do with me right? I mean that would be plain rude, to talk about someone behind their backs." Now Takeshi and Tsunayoshi seem to have caught on as well. "I-I'm sorry," they say in unison. I smile at them as I accept their apology. "Apology accepted," I say and they all sigh with relief. "Well then, let's get to our homework, shall we?" I say with mischief in my eyes. "I'm warning you though, I'm a tough teacher," and I see Tsunayoshi shudder in fear and apparently the other two also felt something because all the while we were studying, they didn't say much.

As I walk home I rewind what had happened the last two hours and though I am pretty sure that I am way past my curfew, I just can't seem to really care about it at the moment, as happiness is all I can feel right now. You see step two of my plan to get Kyou-nii and Tsunayoshi together has been set in motion and I got help from an unexpected angle; both Haru and Kyoko will help. Maybe I'll even get Hana to help. Oh, but before that I have to tell what happened. Long story short; Tsunayoshi's mother came home with more people than when she left the house and I had dinner with them and got to know them. Here is the longer version, starting from when Nana came home.

"I'm home! Tsu-kun! And I need your help," a voice calls. Tsunayoshi, who was looking rather worn out, immediately stands up, looking rather refreshed. How did he do that so fast?! "I'm coming, mom!" he says back. He turns around to face us and he smiles apologetic. "I'm gonna go and help mom. You can stay for dinner if you want to," he adds. Hayato and Takeshi both say that they are staying for dinner and then Tsunayoshi looks at me. "Do you want to have dinner with us as well?" Even though I know he always has a lot of people in the house and I know that Nana doesn't mind, I still wonder whether or not I'd impose on them. Tsunayoshi, seeing the hesitation on my face, says that if I want to make a good impression I could always help with the cooking. Instead of Bianchi, is what he thinks, I can just see that going through his mind.

But it does help ease the worry, so I agree. He smiles fondly at me and turns around to walk down the stairs. The three of us stand up and follow him. "Welcome, Takeshi-kun, Hayato-kun. Are you staying for dinner as well?" she asks me. I nod and introduce myself. "My name is Kirihara Yuzuru; it is a pleasure to meet you Sawada-san." "Oh, please call me Nana or Mama, Sawada-san sounds so formal," she replies and smiles at me. "Uhm, Nana-san, do you mind if I help with dinner," I ask hesitantly. I see her frown at me as she says that guests shouldn't help, but then I reason with her that she has to cook for a lot more people than she initially thought. Her frown turns into a smile and she says she would love to have some help. I smile and follow her to the kitchen, where Tsunayoshi puts the last groceries down on the counter.

As Nana and I are preparing dinner, the doorbell rings and Tsunayoshi goes to open the door. "Kyoko-chan! Haru! What are you doing here?" he asks curiosity lacing his voice. Now would be the perfect time to get some female friends as well, because I realise now, that the only females I associate myself with are mom, Nana and the nice old lady who owns her own medical shop in the shopping district. The rest are all males, not that that is a bad thing, I mean every single male I know is as handsome as can be, but still... I can't exactly talk about boys with boys, now can I? So the first thing I do when I hear Tsunayoshi say that they can come in, is dry my hands and walk into the living room.

"Hello, I don't think we've met before," I say, holding out my hand. I know Kyoko was in the same class as Tsunayoshi when they were first and second years, but this year she is in the class next door, 3-B, and Haru goes to a completely different school. "My name is Kirihara Yuzuru," I say. They both smile at me and both shake my hand, introducing themselves. Then Kyoko asks a question I honestly thought she would never ask. "Yuzuru-chan, are you Tsuna-kun's girlfriend?" she asks innocently. Tsunayoshi, who was conveniently drinking some water, spits it out and almost chokes to death. I stare at Kyoko in wonder and a look that says 'Why in the world would you think that?'. She shrugs at me and shakes her head. I sigh and walk towards Tsunayoshi, giving him a hard slap on his back, making him stumble forward and almost tripping over his own feet. He gives me a glare and I give him a huge smile, not showing my eyes. I turn back at Kyoko and say: "No, because he already has a crush on someone else."

Those words almost make it seem like time stopped for a second. Kyoko and Haru look at each other, Reborn stops drinking his espresso, Nana stops washing the vegetables and turns around, looking like she has just won a million dollar mansion. Hayato looks sad and happy and Takeshi is grinning like an even bigger fool than normal. While Tsunayoshi on the other hand, was giving me hateful glares I didn't know he could give. Then the sounds came back and time moves on. Kyoko and Haru are talking with Nana about it, Reborn is giving me a look I can't quite decipher. Takeshi and Hayato resume whatever they were doing and Tsunayoshi is sitting in the corner, looking rather depressed. But before they could ask me any questions I say: "There is no way I am letting anyone get the fun of Tsunayoshi and his crush, so you can forget the idea of wanting to know it. If you want to know it so badly, find out yourself. That counts for everyone, you too Reborn," I say with a strict, cold voice, making everyone in the room cringe in a bit. Even Reborn, although he just twitches a bit, but Tsunayoshi's mood get's a lot better and he looks really relieved.

Dinner was quite rowdy, because Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta also came back from playing in the park and there was almost no space for the eleven of us, but we made it work. I came to know that Lambo, under all the wailing he does, deeply cares for his surrogate family and when I asked him that if he had to choose between going back to Italy and staying here in Namimori, he answered, without a shred of hesitation, that he would never leave his family behind. I had then smiled at the boy with the warmest smile I could give and ruffled his hair. To which he initially grumbled, because I was messing up his hair, but he quickly gave me a big smile in return. The same was for Fuuta and I-pin, although I-pin had trouble answering the question, because she loves her master just as much as she loves this family. I said to her that she must feel lucky, having two families and I whispered to her that I too have two families. She then smiled at me with glee and agreed that having two families was twice the fun and double the love.

Before I left after dinner, Kyoko and Haru had come to me and said that they both feel like they know who Tsunayoshi loves. I asked them if they were sure and they answered no, but, they said, they knew that Tsunayoshi's crush was not female. That was good enough for me, so I beckoned them with my finger and whispered half of my plan into their ears. Of course not everything, because that's no fun, just the things that they could help me with. I didn't tell them who it is Tsunayoshi's in love with, to make it more fun for me and fairer for Tsunayoshi, because I did say I would keep it a secret. What is going through my head right now, as I am walking down my street is the look of knowing Takeshi had given me, before I left. Like he knew who Tsunayoshi's crush is, hmm I'm going to ask him tomorrow. If I'm allowed to leave the house, that is. Because there is no doubt that mom, dad and Kyou-nii are furious with me and disappointed.

Furious? Try murderous! When I open the door, mom is standing right behind it and it scares me a bit. The look on her face is downright scary and cold. I now know why no one tries to make her angry, they would pee their pants before she even said a word. It is very quiet in the house. "..." "..." "I'm sorry," I say, really feeling remorseful. I never felt this guilty. Mom sighs and turns around without saying anything. I notice that Kyou-nii and dad aren't home. "Your father is still at work, because there was more trouble than expected and Kyou-chan is patrolling the streets, trying to keep his mind from his worries for you," she explains. I look at her with a sad expression, even though she can't see it and I see her shoulders tense and relax. "...I'm just glad that you're home. Just, just call next time you stay at a friend's place for dinner, okay?" she asks. I face palm my forehead. Why didn't I think of that! I had a feeling I forgot something when we were eating dinner. The sound of a door opening and closing pulls me out of my reverie. As I turn around I see Kyou-nii staring at me with a surprised look on his face. There is also worry in his eyes, but surprisingly no anger. The door closes behind him and he takes of his shoes. When he reaches me he pulls me into a hug. I hear him give a relieved sigh and I feel the tenseness in his shoulders leave. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins and I feel him shaking a little bit. He also faintly smells of blood, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. To reassure him that I am really home, I give him a tight hug back and feel him calming down. I don't know what happened to get _the_ Hibari Kyouya that shaken up, but I know that whatever happened during his patrolling had only enlarged his worry for me.

* * *

~H.K.~

Worrying is getting me nowhere. It's now 6am and she still hasn't called home. Maybe I'll go do some patrolling. As I leave the house and go on patrol I get a nasty feeling. I can smell the blood stench coming from the other side of town. It's strong and the vibe is bad. But I still head there because I have to bite the fool, who dares to spill blood in Namimori, to death.

As I am strolling down the street, the feeling I had when I left home gets stronger and another feeling I didn't think I could get for anything other than protecting Namimori and Yuzuru, starts to grow. The smell of blood is getting worse and my imagination starts to run wild; what if Yuzuru ended up here... hurt and maybe severely injured? I immediately scrap that idea from my mind. I need a clear mind to focus on the enemies ahead and putting funny ideas in my own head is not helping.

The sight upon which I arrive is disgusting to say the least. I noticed that the smell of blood wasn't completely human, it smelled like animals, pigs, mostly. I am merely guessing that some idiots were practising on animals first before they decided to go for humans. I look around and notice a small shed, in the middle of all this garbage and carcasses. As I come closer, tonfas in my hands, I hear sounds. Disgusting cut sounds and muffled screams. I have to say that I never thought anyone would be stupid enough to torture and kill in Namimori; I guess I underestimated these fools.

As I kick in the door, the first reply I get is a gun to the head. I answer with swiftly bringing down my tonfa, knocking the gun out of the shooter's hand and breaking his hand along the way. The sounds die down and before long everyone is looking at me. Some recognize me and I recognize them in return; they used to go to the local high school before they got suspended for illegal use and selling of drugs on school grounds. They pale and I smirk but not everyone notices them paling and the rest of the gang prepare for a battle. They have their own sinister smiles on their faces and they must think that it is stupid to come here alone. I take note of my surroundings and count at least two corpses. I scrunch my nose up in disgust. The third person I notice is bound by the wrists and ankles and hung up like a pig ready for slaughter. The wounds on his body can be fatal if they're not treated quickly. I hate it when people disturb the peace here in Namimori, but it's even worse when they kill. I have my fair share of killing now that I am associated with the mafia, but I like to have one peaceful save haven to return to and I am not going to let seven stinking, filthy, cowardly herbivores take that away from me. So the first thing I do is bite anyone who dares to stand in my way, to death. All the while smirking and feeling relieved that there was no Yuzuru here. When I notice most of the disgusting herbivores are shaking, my smirk turns murderous. What was left was the echo of their screams and the sirens of ambulances and police. The only evidence that I was ever there were the tonfa-like shapes all over the shed and the herbivores' faces.

When I open the door, Yuzuru is already home. I try to get angry but more than anything, relief floods through my mind. I am still shaking from the adrenaline I build up during the fight, but I stand up and hug Yuzuru as tight as I can. I know she feels something is up with me but she gives me a tight hug in reassurance back and I feel all the tension in my body leave. I would never ever say it out loud but I love the way she makes me feel at ease and I will feel devastated, to say the least, for years to come when she dies. To say that I am worried and not looking forward to oncoming year, would be a grave understatement.

* * *

~K.Y.~

Another day of school. So far nothing interesting has happened, but I don't mind that in the slightest. In fact I am feeling quite peaceful at this moment. As expected I was grounded for a week, because of what I did, well didn't do, but I didn't mind it. Now a week later I am back in school, yes I wasn't even allowed to go to school! (The horror!) and it is now lunch time. Time to confirm my suspicions about Takeshi. As Tsunayoshi and Hayato are eating and Hayato is telling him a story, I slowly make my way towards Takeshi. When I am sitting next to him, he asks me if I am okay. I wave it off and say that there was some important family business to attend to. He doesn't completely believe me, but he accepts the excuse anyway. He is more aware of people's moods than everyone gives him credit for. I think he may be even sharper than Tsunayoshi at times. "Ne, Takeshi, do you know who it is Tsunayoshi-san is in love with?" I ask.

As I used is full name, Takeshi knows that I am being serious this time. His face turns serious and I give him a hard long stare, which he returns. Then his eyes change from unreadable to musing. "It's Hibari, right?" he asks. I turn my serious face into an approving smile and nod my head. "You are the only one who knows apart from me and I need your help to get the two together," I say. He looks at me with confusion, but I shake my head. I wasn't about to give him my personal reason so I gave him the obvious one. "The two have been going around in circles for a while now and frankly speaking it is starting to irritate me. So I was thinking that I should get them together," I say. He narrows his eyes and gives me a knowing look. I sigh before I rub my nose bridge. Just how much of a pain in the ass can he be? "Take-kun, I am not saying it again. The reason I am doing this is for my own amusement. Do not question my reason. Am I making myself clear?" I ask in a sickening sweet voice, giving Takeshi an equally sickening sweet smile.

I see the shiver run down his spine, but he doesn't reply, fast enough that is. So I make the warning a little clearer, just to be a little bit more intimidating. "Am. I. Making. Myself. Clear?" I ask in a deep voice, well as deep as a girl's voice can be. This time he is nodding his head on time. I nod my head approvingly, I love intimidating people and getting all scary and stuff. I think for a moment before I look at Takeshi again. I smirk and he frowns. "Do you want to help me?" He looks reluctant and I sigh. Guess he leaves me no choice. I lean in and whisper in his ear, but not before noticing the glare Hayato gives me, "I wonder what Hayato thinks when he sees this scene? Would he think the two of us have something going on, I wonder?" I see him pale and squeal inwardly in glee when he nods his head furiously while agreeing to help me. My eyes soften as I see Takeshi shoot worrying glances at Hayato. I wouldn't do something that could break their relationship and I will speak to Hayato about their, still fragile, relationship.

Lunch break is over and I haven't seen Kyou-nii yet, at all. Strange, he loves patrolling the school, if not the town. I normally would've seen him by now. I had been zoning Tsunayoshi and the rest out, so I didn't notice when we had arrived to our class. That is until Tsunayoshi pulled be back at my collar, rather harshly. "Ouch!" I barely choke out. Startled, Tsunayoshi let's go of me and apologizes. I wave it away and tell him I am checking out on Kyou-nii. He gives me a wary smile, nods his head and turns to his friends, entering the classroom. I cough as I turn around heading towards Kyou-nii's office. At least I hope I'm going in the right direction...

Oookay, I went wrong a couple of times, but I made it! As I stand in front of the door I hear pen on paper behind it. I hesitate which makes me go, because why would I feel the need to hesitate? It's Kyou-nii, I shouldn't be afraid. But I feel doubt and I know why; the whole time, during my grounding, Kyou-nii hadn't said a word to me. I felt lonely and even though mom and dad tried to talk Kyou-nii out of it, he never said a word. Even now I feel like he is avoiding me. After that hug when I came home that day, he left to go to his room and he didn't come out for at least two days. After that he only came home for dinner and sleeping and he left as soon as he had breakfast. Two hours before the rest of us. I couldn't hold it out anymore yesterday and I cried and yelled and shouted in frustration at a random tree in Namimori Forest. After that I slid down said tree and cried for a long time after that. I am fairly sure that everyone in town heard my wails but I didn't care about that, I just wanted my brother to talk to me again. And today that is going to happen.

* * *

~H.K.~

I noticed her standing in front of the door for at least five minutes before she finally opened it. I didn't bother looking up. I don't know why I feel like this, but after the relief of Yuzuru being home, I felt sadness and disappointment welling up inside of me. It took me two days before the feeling finally cooled down, but after that I felt a dangerous fury boiling up inside of me. To prevent me from taking it out on Yuzuru when I know I would hurt her when I did that, I left every morning at 5 pm to patrol the streets of Namimori and Namimori Middle School. I had to get my thoughts right and clear my mind, before I could talk to Yuzuru again. I know that I was merely avoiding the problem, by not talking to Yuzuru about it and I know that it was hurting her. It took her a full six days before she finally snapped and I felt my heart tear when she was screaming and crying yesterday. But now she is here and she wants to solve whatever is wrong with us at the moment.

"Kyou-nii," I hear her say. It was so soft, I almost couldn't hear it. I look up and I can see the unshed tears in her eyes. She looks relieved and sad at the same time. It comes as no surprise to me when she asks what she did wrong. I shake my head and beckon her to come over. She hesitantly follows my order and stops in front of my desk. What happened yesterday was my final straw and I knew Yuzuru had reached hers too. If this went on any longer, the strain could become too much and may damage her body and mind. But here we are now, in front of each other just staring. She looks like she wants to say something, but it appears that the words are leaving her. "If there is something you want, you only need to ask. If there is something you need to know, you only need to say it," I say and the doubt clouding her eyes disappears and determination takes its place. "...Why have you been avoiding me? Is it because I did something wrong? I really hate it when you avoid me for a reason I can't see. Please tell me what is wrong! I hate this loneliness and sadness I am feeling!" I can hear the desperation in her voice and the tears are now running freely over her cheeks. My heart breaks a little more and my eyes soften. The feeling of fury and dread I had are now gone and I beckon Yuzuru to come closer. She walks around the desk and stands in front of me. She is shaking a little bit with her head down. But when I reach her hand and pull her on my lap, she quiets down. As she curls up to me and wraps her arms around my waist, I wrap her in my arms and push her against my chest. The scene is very familiar and I feel tears welling in my eyes too, but I don't shed them. This is a scene repeated from ten years ago, when Yuzuru became my sister.

She had cried uncontrollably for her parents, I remember my parents telling me. They also told me that she had awoken from a comatose-like state of sleep and that I needed to be careful with her. I didn't really understand, but then again I was a seven year old boy. When I first saw Yuzuru it pained me to see that a six year old girl could look so lost, broken and scared. When my parents let go of me, I immediately walked towards the herbivore that was going to be my sister and I pulled her into a hug. My parents, well my mother was squealing in glee and I could see my father looking at me in pride. But I didn't care about that, I just wanted Yuzuru to feel safe and I wanted her to know that she wouldn't lose us. My first words were to her were: "If there is something you want, you only need to ask. If there is something you need to know, you only need to say it." I remember she had started to cry again but she had wrapped her arms around me and she had cried into my chest. It was a sad first meeting, but one with hope.

I feel Yuzuru cupping my face and wiping away tears on my cheeks, I then realise that I had been crying silently. I had been staring into the distance, but now that my attention was back I let my eyes wonder off towards Yuzuru's. I tell her that nothing was her fault and that I had some trouble keeping my emotions in check. Thinking back on it now, that is a stupid reason to ignore Yuzuru for a week. "Maybe you should have told me from the very beginning about these feelings. It would have saved the both of us a lot of pain," she says to me. I give her a watery smile and she returns it with one. I hug her once in a tight grip, before letting go of her. I wipe the emotions of my face and lock the herbivorous feelings away. I look at the clock and raise an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" I ask. I feel her shift in my lap and a smirk appears on my face. "Hoo~? What do you think you're doing in my office when it is class time?" I ask her. The tension between the two of us is gone now and I can feel that she is relieved. My eyes soften, before I tell her that she should hurry up and get to class. She rolls her eyes and springs off my lap. She then skips towards the door. Before she walks out the door she turns around and I see a victorious smile on her lips. "I have found allies to get you and your crush together," she says in a sing-song voice, winking at me. It takes a couple of seconds before it downs on me that she means Tsunayoshi. I didn't think I could blush, but I am very glad Yuzuru is already out of the door.

* * *

~S.T.~

Kirihara-san had been spacing out more than usual. I feel like there was an overwhelming sadness coming from her. Even though she tries to cover it up. I know it is always there, but today her sadness made itself present. It pains me to know that there is something that makes her so sad, but I feel like I can't help her in anyway, one; because she didn't tell what was wrong and two; because it is personal. Apart from her name and age, and that Hibari-san is her brother, I know nothing about her. I am not going to pry, if she wants to tell me then she will, I hope. I get the feeling that Yuzuru is just like Hibari-san; a cloud protecting her family from afar without really involving herself with us. I'm talking as if she is my family... maybe she is. I may have unconsciously pulled her into my family. It feels like a second nature to have her in our Family.

As I am thinking about her, the door slides open, revealing a rather happy looking Yuzuru. It seems like Hibari-san and she sorted out their problems, whatever problems had been haunting her mind. It makes me happy and relieved to know that I won't be hearing wails like the ones from yesterday anytime soon. I get the feeling she knew that practically the whole town had heard her crying; it had been a desperate sound, wails full of agony and sadness. She catches me look and gives me a bright smile, which I return with just as much happiness. I may not know everything about her, I know enough about her to care for her.

The whole class looks at me like 'what happened between the two of you?' but I ignore them and so does Kirihara-san. She just walks in and apologizes to the teacher for being late. The teacher doesn't say anything and just nods. I guess it must come in handy, having Hibari-san as your brother. It occurred to me that they do not have the same last name, but I don't think that really matters; I have two brothers living in my house with different family names and a little sister who has two families. An adopted brother who is in the same position as me and a tutor who is much like a father to me, in a strange and odd way. So I don't think it is weird at all. Kirihara-san walks to her seat and sits down, still smiling. That smile didn't leave her face a single second and I think even our classmates were entranced by her. If only they knew what went behind that innocent cover...

* * *

~K.Y.~

Ahh~ it feels great! I feel like I can take on the world! ...okay that may be a little bit overrated but now that I know what Kyou-nii had been thinking I feel a lot better. I can look forward to putting my plan into action. It might take a while though, because I feel that Kyou-nii is even slower than Tsunayoshi when it comes to love. I got no reaction from him whatsoever when I mentioned his crush. How disappointing, how can he be so dense!? Then again he is a carnivore so herbivorous feelings aren't common for him.

As I open the door to the classroom, I can feel all eyes on me. I apologize to the teacher but she doesn't say anything, how rude. Then I notice Tsunayoshi looking at me with relief. I give him a bright smile, equal to Kyoko's and I am happy to see that Tsunayoshi returns it with just as much happiness. I promptly ignore my classmates as I sit down in my seat, still with the smile on my face. It is dead quiet in the classroom and everybody is still looking at me. I can see that the only ones not fooled by my innocent manner are Tsunayoshi, obviously, Hayato and Takeshi. If only these people knew the real me.

I have decided that I need to talk to Hayato about his relationship with Takeshi. I feel like it's not going smoothly. So when the last bell rings I grab Hayato's arm before Takeshi or Tsunayoshi can say anything and run away. "Let go of me, woman!" he yells in my ear. I come to a stop so suddenly he bumps into me and falls to his ass. I turn around and give him a long, cold glare. He shivers and stands up, dusting himself off. "...What is going on between you and Takeshi?" I ask. He blushes furiously and I realise I made a mistake in questioning. "Sorry, let me rephrase that, what is keeping your relationship from going further?" I ask him with an eyebrow lifted. His blush dies down and sadness enters his eyes. He tells me what had been bugging him for a while and I get the picture. To make it easy; he doubted what Takeshi felt for him and was worried that he might be left behind. I sigh a small sigh and look Hayato in the eye. "I get where you are coming from, because I feel like that too. But you have to understand that Takeshi loves you more than anything. He is part of Tsunayoshi's Family for two reasons. One, obviously, because he wants to protect his friends and two, because he knows you are there."

He doesn't reply so I continue on with my reasoning. "I know trusting is hard, especially in your case, but you have to take those steps. Time doesn't stand still for anyone and before you know it what is precious to you might have disappeared and you can't get it back. Use whatever time you have wisely because there are seldom any second chances in one love." He stays quiet but I know the message got across. There is a second meaning in there but I don't think Hayato got it. To give him a final push I tell him what I did on the roof was to get Takeshi to take notice of his surroundings. It is not the complete truth, because I didn't come up with this reason until Hayato mentioned having no trust in Takeshi's love. I tell him to talk to Takeshi now, because if he were to wait any longer it would only strain their relationship more. He runs off and I take out my phone and message Takeshi that Hayato is on his way to see him, so stay put. Satisfied with my work I turn around and head home. Time to think about Tsunayoshi and Kyou-nii.

I have concluded that Kyou-nii is nearing his end. He is dying to know what I have in store for him and Tsunayoshi and he keeps bothering me. I guess the meaning of what I told him before I left his office at school today had reached him, but it had made him more curious than I had wanted. For instance, take dinner.

Dad wasn't home yet, so it was just me, mom and Kyou-nii. Mom was in the kitchen and I was sitting in the living room. As Kyou-nii came down the stairs and into the kitchen, I could feel his eyes on me. It took mom about half an hour to finish dinner and Kyou-nii kept on silently staring at me. Mom had also noticed and had shot me a questioning glance. I just shook my head in answer as Kyou-nii continued on silently putting pressure on me.

By the time dad had gotten home, Kyou-nii had been staring at me for a full three hours. It was nerve wrecking, but I refused to say anything. I promptly ignored him and just like the carnivore he is, he kept on looking at me, his prey. Dad had told me to go upstairs, take a shower and go to bed early. I figured Kyou-nii would give me my privacy, but I was so dead wrong.

After I had finished the shower, I put on my pyjamas and crawled into my bed, without knowing there was already someone in there. Kyou-nii had gotten into my bed, already wearing his pyjamas, and had been hugging a pillow...you heard me right; the demon prefect of Namimori hugs a pillow at night. How cute and out of character. If I hadn't known better I would have screamed bloody murder, but I did and I knew Kyou-nii appreciated me knowing better. There is nothing worse than a Hibari waking up to a screeching yell; they get even crankier than what they usually are. I did not need that thank you very much. After giving him a big scolding on why you should never enter a girl's bedroom, let alone her bed!, he looked at me with puppy eyes. I hate it when he pulls that trick on me, I can't resist it. But I did, I told him in a stern voice that he should wait until the present unpacks itself. He had looked so reluctant to accept that answer that I almost hugged him. Almost. When he kept on looking like a kicked puppy I gave up and told him he could sleep in my bed. He accepted and within five minutes he was fast asleep. Which led to me coming to the conclusion that Kyou-nii was too curious, stubborn and cute for his own good. It makes me wonder who the real seme in Tsunayoshi and Kyou-nii's future relationship is going to be.

"Take-kun, can you see either Tsunayoshi or Hibari?" I ask into the walkie-talkie. I decided to keep my relationship with Kyou-nii a secret. I couldn't wait until everyone would find out about him being my adorable big brother! I am thinking about all kinds of possible scenarios in which Kyou-nii reveals himself as my brother, they are all heroic! Knowing the situation it is going to be in, I figure that the revelation is not going to be so heroic. More sad than anything. I shake my head, it's no use thinking about my death when I've still got about two and a half month left. Just let it come and by the time Tsunayoshi's killer is here, I'll take his bullet. It's that easy and I hope it will be less painful than the death my parents went through...

"No, I haven't, hold on... I see Hibari. He's coming your way." I smirk and stand up from my crouch position. "Well done. Now all you have to do is get Tsunayoshi-san. I will make sure that Hibari comes towards the gym and stays there," I say. "I've been wanting to ask, but how are you even going to get him to stay there. From what I know, Hibari isn't all that fond of taking orders." "Well let's say that I have my ways," I say with a pleasant and satisfied smile on my face. I can practically feel Takeshi shivering through the walkie-talkie, probably imagining what I could do to any ordinary guy. It's quiet for a little while before Takeshi gives me a response. "...Just be careful," he says. I'm a little surprised that he warns me, but I smile softly at him, even though he isn't anywhere near me. "Will do," I say. I then shut off the walkie-talkie and head towards Kyou-nii.

As he walks around the corner he 'accidentally' bumps into me. "Hey Kyou-nii," I say while smiling at him. He narrows his eyes in suspicion at me being near the gym after school. I guess that is reasonable; I hate gym or being active in general. I am rather good at defending myself if I want to (read absolutely need to), but most of the time I am too lazy to put in any effort to exercise. That and the fact that my body is gradually growing weaker. So, yeah, it is weird for me to be here. But I ignore his suspicion and merely smile at him. He sighs, shakes his head and walks over to a nearby tree. I raise an eyebrow, before I understand what he wants to do. I follow him and sit next to him under the tree. We just sit there in a comfortable silence. "...What are you planning?" I maintain from jumping in surprise. I had not realised that Kyou-nii had been observing me. I turn my head and give him a smirk, one he gives when he sees an opponent worthy to fight.

I see him pale a little bit and I can see a small drop of sweat run down from his temple towards his jaw line. "...Nothing that would embarrass you in any way. If anything, you should be grateful to me," I say. Again, he narrows his eyes in suspicion, but he doesn't respond. He sits back against the tree and closes his eyes. This time I am the one observing him. I smile fondly at him as I see a soft smile appear on his face. It makes him look absolutely heavenly, sorry for being corny!, but considering the fact that he looks stoic or demonic most of the time, that is the best way to describe him. He is actually a big softy underneath his rough demeanour, but people tend to stay away from him. Not that I don't get where they are coming from, but they blindly believe every rumour about him. And as his sister, I find it my duty to make sure that he gets his well deserved love from someone other than family.

As the wind changes direction I hear Tsunayoshi and Takeshi coming towards the gym. I am sure Tsunayoshi has already picked up on something happening, but he is just too dense to realise that he was going to be put inside the gym storage room with his crush. The oldest trick in the book to get two people together; just lock them up in a storage room. It's effective most of the time and if they don't come out as a couple, they at least got to know each other better. I made sure that Kyou-nii could not bring his tonfas with him if he were to leave his office; I snatched them the minute he looked away when I came into his office to tell him a poor teacher needed him. It was a lie of course, but it gave me enough time to take away the rest of his weapons too. And let me tell you, Kyou-nii is someone who always takes into account that his weapons might fail him; I found another five pairs of tonfas... I bet you there are a lot more in his own room. Huh, I don't even know. That is something I have to find out.

I tug at his sleeve to get his attention and beckon for him to follow me. He gives me a questioning look, but stands up and follows me anyway. As I turn around and walk towards the storage room I see that Takeshi has already convinced Tsunayoshi to walk into the storage room. As soon as he sees me he flees and hides behind the storage room. My smile turns into a smirk as I see Tsunayoshi with his back towards us. I stop in the door opening and I turn around to face Kyou-nii. I see him look at me in confusion but when he sees Tsunayoshi he stiffens. My smirk grows and I pull Kyou-nii towards me. He falls a little bit but before he falls into me, I side-step and he stumbles into Tsunayoshi, making the two of them fall to the ground. They both look back at me with a horrified expression as realisation downs upon them. I smirk and jiggle the keys in front of them before closing the door and locking it. I immediately sign for Takeshi to get the barricades and I see him rushing towards me with them. I made sure that the door knobs could not be turned, nor that Kyou-nii could pick the lock. I laugh devilishly as I hear Tsunayoshi banging on the door. I see Takeshi sweatdrop at me, but I ignore him in favour of enjoying the moment of victory. "I'll come back in three hours, maybe," it turns quiet and I continue, "Use the time wisely." I give a small sigh and turn around. I slowly walk away and turn towards Takeshi. "And, how do you think our plan will go?"

I've decided that after two and a half hours of waiting at TakeSushi with Takeshi and Hayato, they have had enough time to get to know each other. Although it was shocking for Hayato, he quickly realised that his beloved Decimo had a huge crush on the Demon prefect of Namimori. He was surprised that his friend was in love with a man, as he thought that Tsunayoshi was still in love with Kyouko, however who was he to judge Tsunayoshi? He was dating Takeshi after all. Speaking of the two, their relationship looks like it is going rather well. After Hayato had gotten my advice about a week ago, he made sure to tell Takeshi all his insecurities. Hayato send me a text later that night, telling me it had taken him nearly three hours to get everything off his chest. He had been slightly nervous and a hell of a lot scared but he was relieved and more than anything grateful for the fact that Takeshi had accepted all of his insecurities. I had texted him a 'told you so' back and was glad to know that I had made one bond stronger. Now back to the most problematic one.

I have a feeling that the two have not gotten any further than holding hands, if they have even confessed at all. But as I remove the barricades and unlock the door I see that my thoughts are wrong. I smile softly at the sight in front of me. Tsunayoshi had fallen asleep sideways on Kyou-nii's lap with his arms hugging him and his head in the crook of Kyou-nii's neck. There is a slight blush still visible on his face, but the most obvious one of the two is Kyou-nii himself. He too has fallen asleep but his arms are put around Tsunayoshi in a protective manner that has no dirty intentions in any way. His hands however have slumped down towards a rather, uhm, sensitive and awkward place. I feel awkward just looking at it. So I naturally shift my gaze away and up towards his face. His expression is so peaceful and for some reason a weight I hadn't noticed was on my heart, lifts up and relief and happiness take its place. Before I notice it, tears start streaming down my face. It has been a long, long time since I have seen Kyou-nii so serene, so, so _human_ that I can't help but feel like he is almost like a different person. These two still have a long way to go, but I feel, no I know, that they can get through their problems as long as they have each other.

I first gently wake up Kyou-nii; as I nudge him I see his eyes flutter open and he tightens his grip on Tsunayoshi. I stifle a giggle at the action and softly whisper into his ear that he should take his hands off of Tsunayoshi if he wants to get out of the storage room without any awkward scenes occurring. He looks at me weirdly until I sign with my eyes to look lower. As he looks down I look on in amusement as a soft pink covers his cheeks. How innocent! Bet you would have never thought that Kyou-nii was this innocent! He takes his hands off of Tsunayoshi and shifts a little bit. This causes Tsunayoshi to wake up. He stifles a yawn and sleepily rubs his eyes. I inwardly squeal at the scene, it was so adorable.

I can see that Kyou-nii has trouble keeping his fantasies under control. No matter how much of a fan I am of the two, I do not need to know what goes on in their heads, that's just...ew. Unfortunately for me, I did not have my shields up in time so the scene that comes floating into my mind, oh so innocently, is that of Tsunayoshi, strapped to the bed and Kyou-nii looking at him like he is a dessert. I almost have a nose bleed but before any more scenes can float into my mind, I close the connection off. Good lord, I must be losing my touch! Shaking my head, I turn to Kyou-nii to hit him on the head. He glares at me, but when he sees the mischievous glint in my glare he gulps and turns away. While all of this is happing, Tsunayoshi was starting to process what has happened. I have never seen anyone go from pale, to red, to pale again that fast. Then he passes out. Well, should have seen that one coming.

"I take it everything went well then?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. Kyou-nii stays quiet but he nods. Tsunayoshi on the other hand is shifting uncomfortably next to him. I sigh and Tsunayoshi straightens up. "So, are you dating now?" I ask. Tsunayoshi blushes furiously at the question, while Kyou-nii says yes without hesitation. After his blush dies down, a little bit, Tsunayoshi nods his head in a confirming manner. I smile at them with happiness and I tell them that Takeshi and Hayato already know. I see Tsunayoshi twitch and break out in sweat so I glare at him, warning him that if he were to pass out again, he won't wake up pleasantly. He stays quiet, although a little bit pale, but he doesn't pass out. "They won't judge," is all I say. They both look at me in confusion, but I make no move to answer their silence.

I feel a yawn coming and take a look at the clock in Kyou-nii's office. "I think it's about time we go home, don't you agree?" I ask. I see Tsunayoshi relax at the change of subject and he nods his head. Kyou-nii turns to look at the clock and he notices too that it is way past curfew for a normal school day. It's nearing 10pm and I'm suspecting Tsunayoshi still has homework left to do. I stifle another yawn and lazily got up from the couch. "Well then, let's head home shall we?" Both of them seem to think that I have dropped the subject of our conversation, but I am not done just yet. "...So, have you already kissed yet?" Even though I warned him, Tsunayoshi passes out. Again.

The next month or so isn't that eventful. Reborn had planned a trip to the seaside, just to relax he said. Naturally, being the student of the world's biggest sadist, Tsunayoshi couldn't help but think that Reborn had planned something. Not that I blame him, Reborn has a tendency to be sadistic like that. But this time, it really was just for relaxation. Even though I still had about 9 months left until my death, I noticed that my disease was getting worse. It has always been there, as subtle as it could be. But sometimes I am pulled back to the cruel reality of my disease; I am dying and it's starting to show.

The first signs had been a couple of days before we left for the trip. I had been coughing up blood and I was hit with dizziness and I had passed out. But on the day of the trip I felt fine. I was a little paler than usual, but that was barely noticeable, because I was already very pale. Kyou-nii knew, so of course he kept an eye on me. I could feel Reborn keeping an eye on me too, during the trip. I suspect that both Tsunayoshi and Takeshi feel that there is something wrong with me, but neither speaks up their concerns. The others were either occupied with the trip or they just didn't notice anything. During the trip my disease decided that it would leave me be for a little while and nothing happened. I had a lot of fun, but there was something on the back of my mind. I hadn't forgotten about the threat concerning Tsunayoshi. His murderer would arrive soon and I had to speak to Reborn and Hayato about it. Information concerning the man, who he is and what he looks like for example. The days spend at the beach were a warm welcome for all of us, but I suspect Reborn did it mostly for me. I am very grateful for it.

I too have the need to escape reality sometimes. But to all the fun has to come and end and we are now heading back to Namimori. I am sitting at the back, near a window. Next to me is Tsunayoshi together with Kyou-nii. Reborn is sitting everywhere and nowhere. Haru and Kyoko are sitting in the middle just behind Ryouhei, Lambo, Fuuta and I-pin. Takeshi and Hayato are seated at the front, next to each other. Originally all the Guardians had to come, however Chrome-san was unavailable for an uncertain amount of time. When we went to check up on the Mist Guardian, we found their home empty. It was a pity; I had wanted to meet the Pineapple duo. Dino had wanted to come too, but Reborn had said that the boss of a mafia family shouldn't slack off. Tsunayoshi had wanted to commentate on that however he quickly realised that it was a family trip only.

But back to the ride home. I guess along the way I had fallen asleep because when I wake up, I see that we have arrived at Namimori. The first to be dropped off, are Kyoko, Ryouhei, Haru and Hayato. Next up is Takeshi and last but not least are Kyou-nii, Tsunayoshi, the children who are fast asleep and me. "Tsuna, why don't you put the children to bed? Come back down immediately after that. We have somewhere to go," Reborn says as he looks at Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi nods his head and shakes Fuuta awake. "Can you go to your room?" he asks. Fuuta sleepily nods his head and heads upstairs. Tsunayoshi picks up Lambo and I-pin and heads upstairs as well. That leaves the only two who know about my disease. I sigh and turn around and as expected they are both looking at me with a meaningful look. "...If there is something you want to say, say it. I'm not a mind reader," I huff. Kyou-nii gives me a look that says 'are you kidding me?' and Reborn looks at me in amusement. Said amusement dissolves rather quickly though and Reborn turns to speak to both Kyou-nii and me. "I heard from Kyouya that your disease has been acting up," he says. I wave his concern away and say that it is to be expected when I am getting closer and closer to death. It stays quiet for a while and just when Reborn wants to say something, we hear Tsunayoshi coming down the stairs. "I'm sorry for the wait, Lambo wouldn't let go," he sheepishly says. "...Well that explains the drool on your shirt," I say with a smirk. His eyes widen in alarm and when he looks down he grunts. "Lambo~!" he whines and I laugh silently. "So," I ask, "Where are we going?" "You'll see," Reborn says as he walks away. I raise an eyebrow but follow him anyway.

Turns out that we are going to meet the Mist Guardians and their gang. I can't wait! From what I know about Chrome-san it's that she is very shy towards strangers, but when she gets used to you being around, she starts warming up to you. I heard from Kyoko and Haru that she enjoys cooking, which is surprising as I thought she didn't know how to cook, reading (difficult) books and eating all kinds of cakes with friends. I am looking forward to meeting the female Guardian. The male Guardian,...not so much. I think, no I know, that the moment our eyes meet, he will know about my sickness, my 'gift' and my plans on taking Tsunayoshi's place. He isn't the male Mist Guardian for nothing. Apart from the fact that he was in Vindice for a very long time, that he has a hard time trusting people and that Kyou-nii doesn't want me anywhere near him, I know next to nothing about him. I wonder how he would react to being called a pineapple...?

As an answer to my previous question; not so great. Much like I had anticipated, he did not like to (indirectly) be called a pineapple, but it saved my butt when he got annoyed and left. As I expected he realised immediately as we met, what I was planning. So as a diversion, I asked him the question 'Do you like pineapples?' It is a normal question, right? Right? So I wonder why he ended up looking like he wanted to murder me and throw me into the pits of hell...? Nah, I suppose I know why he reacted like that. I have a feeling he is going to search me out after this, but I don't care. As long as he doesn't spill the beans. "Well, that went well," I say feigning ignorance. Tsunayoshi sweat drops and if Kyou-nii wasn't so stuck up with keeping his image he would've face palmed himself. I inwardly smirk, but when my eyes land on Chrome-san, I see that I had underestimated her. But I am thankful that she decides to keep her mouth shut, unlike Mukuro who would've gladly spilled the beans. "So, Reborn, what was the reason for coming here?" Tsunayoshi asked. "I had wanted Yuzuru to meet your other two Guardians and maybe give me an indication as to how long we still have left," he answers. Both Kyou-nii and I stiffen, but for different reasons. I think Reborn meant until the assassination on Tsunayoshi, instead of my impending death, but Kyou-nii doesn't know that. And I plan on keeping it that way. "Then there is really no need for the rest of us to be here, right?" I ask a little bit annoyed. It stays quiet as I realise that there really is no reason for Kyou-nii, Tsunayoshi and me to be here. I give a soft curse as I take both Kyou-nii and Tsunayoshi by the hand and drag them off.

We first go to my house, to drop me off. "Have some time for yourselves," I say with a smirk as I see the blush appear on both their faces. I smile at them as I turn around and walk into the house. I go up to my room and look outside. They're still here but not for long. I open my window and yell to them to get out of here if they want to be all lovey-dovey. Of course it was my full intention to yell as loud as I could and make sure that at least the neighbours would take a look outside. I'm not disappointed with the result; Tsunayoshi's face reddens and Kyou-nii's expression darkens for at least three of our neighbours have opened their windows. They both look up to me, but I just give them a blinding smile. Kyou-nii, knowing they couldn't possibly win this one, takes Tsunayoshi's hand and walks off. I close the window and the curtain. I don't even bother turning on the light as I sit down on my bed. I inwardly sigh as I start to cough up blood. My breathing becomes difficult and my sight wavers. I stand up and stumble to the bathroom to clean myself up. It doesn't take longer than five minutes, but it feels like an eternity before I reach my bed. I cover myself up and immediately fall asleep as my face hits the pillow.

I always wondered what the dreamscape between Mukuro and Chrome-san looked like. Now I know. It's surprisingly calm and actually quite sweet; all in all not something you'd think Mukuro would make. The first thing I do as I stand in front of Mukuro is bow and apologize to him. He looks taken aback for a second before he laughs his creepy laugh. "Kufufufu, I had not expected you to do that. Nor would anyone think that you keep a secret agenda," he says. I straighten myself and look Mukuro right in the eye. "I am determined to keep those dear to me alive. Especially Kyou-nii and Tsunayoshi," I say. His eyes widen for a bit when I say 'Kyou-nii' but they turn impassive a second later. "Explain." So I do. I don't leave anything out, for he can easily detect a lie in this dreamscape he made. I tell him about the assassination on Tsunayoshi and the possibilities on how to turn the events around. That Hayato and Reborn also know about the assassination, but not about the secret agenda. I tell him that I was adopted by the Hibari's after my parents died. He doesn't ask how they died, but I assume that he can see my memories. I leave the sacrificing part out, but he asks me about it anyway. "...You know that your time is coming to an end, right?" he asks. I nod my head and sigh. Here goes nothing. "I know, which is exactly why I am keeping a secret agenda." He looks at me with a questioning look in his eyes. I smile sadly and show him my plan. His eyes widen and for a minute I thought that he was going to cry, but knowing Mukuro that kind of thing would be impossible. He wouldn't cry about something like this for a person he only met two hours ago. That doesn't stop _me_ from crying though.

I wake up with a headache. After I showed Mukuro my plan, he offered to help me. I gladly accepted it, but mostly for the sacrificing part. Because neither Reborn nor Hayato know about that and I had wondered how I was going to do the second part on my own. It really helps that I have an ally who knows all about my plans. Funny, I never thought Mukuro would do that. He must have seen something I have taken for granted, for I am always determined and accepting of my fate. I shrug my shoulders at that thought. I guess I'll never find out unless I ask him. After I left Mukuro's dreamscape, I was stuck in my own mind. I guess it happens when an illusionist takes you on a trip into one's mind. As soon as I arrived a stream of information about Tsunayoshi's assassin came into my mind. He was in Japan, but not yet in Namimori. I estimate that he is going to be here in about a week, which is much earlier than I had anticipated. Something must have happened that made him arrive earlier. Somewhere in the back of my mind, is that tiny spark of hope for Tsunayoshi. If his arrival could mean anything, than maybe there is a chance that Tsunayoshi might not be assassinated after all. But that spark is soon put out. I know the chances and that chance is just not going to happen, I have to accept it. I already accepted my death, so accepting my early death shouldn't be that hard.

I stand up and put on my uniform. Before I go downstairs I take some medication prescribed for me and drink some water. As I walk into the kitchen, I see Kyou-nii, dad and mom already sitting at the table. I look at the clock and my eyes widen. "Why did none of you try to wake me up?" I say with a small voice. It's already way past school time. "And why are you still here, Kyou-nii?" He just looks up at me before giving me a note. On it is an excuse for out absence as well as a reason why we're both late, signed by Boreen-sensei. Well, should've seen it coming, though I doubt, I honestly doubt, that the teachers would reprimand Kyou-nii on being absent for a couple of days. They will reprimand Tsunayoshi and his gang though...

I feel like I am missing something but what is it..?

* * *

~S.T.~

Kirihara-san, correction, Yuzuru-chan, has been acting off lately. It is completely different from her usual dozed off state and very different from when she had the awkward situation with Kyouya-san. Unwillingly, my thoughts go to my boyfriend; Kyouya-san is my boyfriend! I can't stop the giggles coming from my throat. I see people give me weird looks but I don't care!

I'm very worried about Yuzuru-chan. Lately she has been giving both Hayato and Reborn knowing looks and every time Reborn is near her, it looks like they are talking without speaking. I wonder what they always talk about. Kyouya-san has been feeling very anxious lately, but I do not know for what reason. It hurts me to see him break every day little by little and my HI is telling me that the time to find out is coming soon. I am not looking forward to that day. I may not have known Yuzuru-chan for a long time, but I do not want her to get hurt or worse, she is irreplaceable for me. Somehow, without me noticing it, a little tear escapes from my eye as I stare off into nowhere. I guess the teacher can see my distress because he doesn't reprimand me for slacking off. I have never been so grateful to have a teacher ignore me.

I think back to the beginning of the day, being late for school, yet not seeing Kyouya-san at school. I had silently wondered if something was wrong but Kusakabe-san told me not to worry, that Kyouya was at home having breakfast with his family and Yuzuru, for the first time in a long while. I had smiled at that, glad that there was nothing wrong with him. I still had a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something. I would find out eventually. That 'eventually' had been more 'eventful' than I had wanted, because the teacher sends Yamamoto, Gokudera-kun and me to the hallway. It was embarrassing for me, because I was like a third wheel for them. I stood as far away from them as possible with my back turned towards them. It seems that the class was bothered as well by Gokudera-kun's constant yelling and Yamamoto's tries to make him calm down. When the teacher walked out the door I was met with a very misunderstanding sight. I stood on the other side, while Yamamoto was holding Gokudera-kun in his arms, kissing the nape of his neck. Some girls fainted, others were sad and oddly enough some were looking at me with mischief. I had then gulped and wondered what they would have in store for me.

I sigh as I return back to the present. The fourth class is ending and after that is lunch break. Yuzuru-chan has yet to arrive, but I know she would never miss lunch with her friends. "Yo, Tsuna! Let's go to the rooftop," Yamamoto says. I smile and nod my head. As I open the door to the rooftop, I shield my eyes from the sun as it is blinding me. "Ah Tsunayoshi-san!" I hear a familiar voice call for me. Once my eyes are accustomed to the bright light, I drop my hand and smile at Yuzuru-chan. "Good day, Yuzuru-chan. I'd say morning, but it's already lunchtime," I say with a small chuckle. She puffs her cheeks in a way that doesn't make her seem like my senior at all; it's very childish on the contrary.

"Meany," she says. I chuckle again and I can feel that the atmosphere around her is a little lighter than it was yesterday. It makes me wonder what happened, but I feel like I'm going to find out eventually. Although, my mind tells me, I will not be happy with what I'm going to find. I sit down next to Yuzuru-chan and start telling her everything she missed up until lunch. She has to laugh when I tell her about the scene with Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto and as I tell her about the girls looking at me like I was their next prey she smirks and tells me that it is probably because they think I look good as an uke underneath Kyouya-san. I feel slightly offended; why does everyone assume I'm the one taking it and not the other way around? Yuzuru-chan sees what I am thinking and giggles. I smile at her, before I start eating the rest of my lunch.

Yuzuru-chan is quiet when she eats hers and I can feel that she is seriously thinking about something. I want to ask her what's wrong, but one look at her face and I decide that maybe, I don't really want to know. Then she closes her eyes. I can only assume that she has made up her mind. When she opens her eyes again, she turns to look at me. I'm slightly taken aback by the sheer determination in her eyes. I feel slightly uncomfortable as she opens her mouth to speak. "There is something I need to tell you," she says and I gulp. A nagging feeling in the back of my head tells me that I'm going to feel devastated.

* * *

~K.Y.~

Kyou-nii already left to go to school and as I sit on the couch, drinking a cup of tea I wonder when I should tell Tsunayoshi about myself. I really, really don't want to, but I promised Kyou-nii and besides; Tsunayoshi deserves to know. I sigh as I get up from the couch and put away the cup. I go back upstairs to get my bag and check if everything is inside. When I am downstairs again, I see mom waiting for me. I smile softly at her and she returns the smile. I hug her and she tells me to have fun and be careful. "Bye, mom, see you later," I say as I walk out the door.

It's nearing lunchtime as I walk up the stairs to the roof. I sigh softly as I stand near the fence. I grab the fence with one hand and place my forehead against it. I don't need to worry about me falling off, as Kyou-nii had already taken care of the fence two years ago when Takeshi and Tsunayoshi had fallen off. I sigh as I start thinking about my decision. Should I really tell Tsunayoshi that I was dying? And what do I tell Hayato and Takeshi? I bite on my bottom lip as I keep thinking about what to tell. Until the bell rings. I sigh softly yet again and sit down, leaning against the fence and take out my lunch. It's not long before I can hear the voices of Tsunayoshi, Takeshi and Hayato.

I had a great time listening to Tsunayoshi telling about everything I had missed. I laugh at what he tells me about standing in the hallway and tell him exactly why the girls were preying on him. I see him pale a bit as he gulps. I smile softly at him before I bring my attention back to my lunch. I keep thinking about it and I can feel Tsunayoshi worrying over me. I smile inwardly at his kind demeanour but I can feel his reluctance to get involved with what I want to tell him. I make up my mind and look Tsunayoshi dead in the eyes. I can see that he knows that the news I'm going to bring him is going to devastate him. Great, now I'm going to have two depressed brothers. "There is something I need to tell you," I say and I can see him gulp. This isn't going to be pleasant in the slightest.

I hold Tsunayoshi as he cries onto my shoulder. I told him about myself. About how the disease I have is slowly killing me from the inside out, how my parents died because of it and how I am the last person from my family alive. He cries even harder when I tell him I'm not going to see anyone graduate. Be it from middle school or high school. I feel tears stream down my face as I continue on holding Tsunayoshi. After about an hour he quiets down, calms down enough to ask questions. I listen and try to answer his questions. When he asks me if the reason for helping him and Kyou-nii to get together, was because I feared what would become of Kyou-nii, I answer truthfully and tell him that I want someone to always be by his side. When I'm gone, I know that out of everyone I know, Kyou-nii is going to take it the hardest. He can't live if there isn't something worth living for. I fear that when I am gone, he will lose sight of what is important to him. So I tell Tsunayoshi that he is to become the reason for Kyou-nii to live. I briefly think about telling Tsunayoshi of his possible assassination, but I decide against it. The poor boy already has enough to digest. I'm going to have to work with what I have; help from Hayato, Reborn, Mukuro and my own information.

When we leave the empty classroom, two hours after school is over, I bring him to our house. I had already told Kyou-nii that I would be telling Tsunayoshi about myself and told him that it might take a while. Therefore I wasn't really surprised that it was already five o'clock.

As we walk down the road to my house, he holds my hand. He squeezes in it sometimes, maybe to reassure himself that I am still there or to show me that he will support me. Whatever the reason is; I don't mind it at all. It's nice to have someone I can fully trust other than Kyou-nii. Tsunayoshi is like a second older brother to me, even though I am a year older than he is. It has to be because of the protective nature and the fact that he is, unfortunately, taller than I am.

"I'm home," I say as I open the door. "Welcome back Yu-chan," mom says from the kitchen. I smile although she can't see it. "I brought home a guest," I say with happiness in my voice. I hear mom put down her cooking utensils and hear her footsteps come towards us. I feel Tsunayoshi stiffen next to me and have to hold in a giggle. It seems he finally realized he is meeting his boyfriend's parents. Said boyfriend doesn't appear to be home though. As mom opens the door to the hall, I can hear Tsunayoshi's heart start beating really fast and I squeeze his hand. "Don't worry, my mom will love you," I say. I don't know if it reassured him or not, but he lets go of my hand and smiles at me before my mom takes his attention.

"So you're Sawada Tsunayoshi," my mom says as she looks Tsunayoshi over, from head to toe. I can see that he sees that my mom is looking at him with a critical eye. It's quiet for a few seconds before my mom asks a question I hadn't expected. "So are you Yu-chan's lover, or Kyou-chan's?" I blush, Tsunayoshi blushes even more and I hear a laugh from behind us. I turn around to look at Kyou-nii and I can see amusement in his eyes. I pout at him. "Meany," I say as he sits down next to mom. "So, which one?" mom urges. I roll my eyes and shift my gaze towards my brother who is still looking rather smug. I smirk and as soon as Kyou-nii realizes that I am smirking he drops the smug face. "No, dear mother. Sawada Tsunayoshi is my soon-to-be brother-in-law. Kyou-nii loves him very much after all. Want to bet on who will be the seme in the relationship?" I ask. Both boys are blushing furiously and mom already has her camera out, squealing in delight as she takes the pictures. I smirk, satisfied with my work. Kyou-nii glares at me, put I stick my tongue out to him. "You got what you deserved," I say smugly. And to Tsunayoshi I whisper: "Don't worry, I am a hundred percent sure that you will be the seme, most of the time," I say. I gives me a sideway glance but refrains from responding. If the smirk on his face is anything to go by, then I guess he appreciates my thoughts.

I can't be happier as I'm having dinner with the most important people in my life. Although it's a little awkward for Tsunayoshi, with my dad being stoic and all, it's happy nonetheless. After dinner, Kyou-nii proposes to send Tsunayoshi home, although Tsunayoshi doesn't mind walking home alone. I remind him of the rapists that can try and attack him out of nowhere and it's enough for Kyou-nii to say that he is coming with Tsunayoshi; whether he wants to or not. Knowing he lost this round, Tsunayoshi sighs and puts on his shoes. "It was a pleasure to meet you Mira-san, Kyousuke-san," Tsunayoshi says and my mom just hugs him because she can. Dad and Kyou-nii sweatdrop and I just roll my eyes. Tsunayoshi looks at me with pleading eyes. "Deal with it, or get used to it; if you want to stay with Kyou-nii you're going to get stuck with this family as well," I say with a roll of my eyes.

Although Tsunayoshi twitches, he accepts the hug nonetheless and agrees to come over again. I sigh as Kyou-nii and Tsunayoshi walk away. "Does he know?" dad asks. I tear my eyes away from the two lovers and look into my father's eyes. I close my eyes and breathe out deeply. "...Yeah, he knows. It took him nearly two hours to calm down," I say in respond. I turn around and head to my room. Before I head upstairs I stop and look back. "Dad?" "Hm?" "Thank you," I say. I'm not sure what I am thanking him for, but my dad understands. He gives me a small smile and heads back to my mom's side.

It's quiet as I lay in bed. I take a look at my alarm clock and sigh as the red numbers turn from 23.59 to 0.00 the next day. I can't sleep and it has something to do with next week. I'm getting nervous as I start thinking about a plan. I'll need distraction. I'm not sure if there are going to be more people, but I know I'm going to have to speak to the assassin alone, without any disturbances. I sigh and roll over. I should just try and get some sleep; maybe I'll see Mukuro in my Dreamscape.

"It's nice to formally meet you, Chrome-san," I say with a smile. My smile widens as I see the blush appear on her face. So she's not used to being approached like she is worth your time. I'll need to change that. I frown as I realize I'm not going to be able to do that. I sigh and flop down to the ground. As I sit with my legs crossed, Chrome-san sits across from me and starts humming a gently tune. I close my eyes and merely listen to the melody. It's a little familiar and all of a sudden a lost memory comes to mind. I let a single tear fall as I remember my birth mother singing the song to me when I was sick in bed. The humming stops and when I open my eyes I look into Mukuro's heterochromatic ones. He looks slightly worried? I shake off that thought, don't think too much of it. He helps me up and together with Chrome-san, we walk towards to huge Sakura-tree in the middle of the meadow.

"So, do you have any idea on how to stop the assassination?" Mukuro asks. I sigh and close my eyes. I hum and try to imagine whatever I had thought of. I hear a gasp and as I open my eyes I feel a small spark of satisfaction and pride; Mist Flames are incredibly hard to use, especially for me. My mind is strong; stronger than most minds; but the reason why it is strong is also the reason why it is weaker than most minds. I could easily get drowned in my own mind if I'm not careful. But I'm not worried about that right now; I have two amazingly talented Mist users nearby.

"So, I was thinking that I need someone to distract everyone else, so that I can talk to this assassin on my own. There are certain things I don't know and no matter how hard I try, I can't get to it," I say with a slightly frustrated tone. Mukuro raises an eyebrow and Chrome-san asks me what it is. "The identity of the assassin," I say with a frown. "That is certainly annoying," Mukuro says. Chrome-san is thinking as well and just when I want to close my eyes again, she mentions something I hadn't thought of yet. "How about I create a diversion for you? There has to be someone with you, and seeing as Mukuro-sama is better at physically defending, I think taking him with you is the better solution," she says. I'm quiet, Mukuro's quiet and we're both amazed by her proposal and the sheer determination of it. I let the words process and a plan starts to finalize in my mind. "That is a great idea Chrome-san. I hope you don't mind having to help me more than we thought?" I ask Mukuro. All I get is an amused look and when he looks back at Chrome, I can see just how much he adores her. I lean towards him and whisper into his ear: "Don't let her walk, you'll never find someone like Chrome-san again." He blushes but silently agrees and I can see that the two will work out just fine, as I notice that Chrome-san seems to like Mukuro more than she is willing to show. I smile as I feel myself fading out. My time here is up, it's time to wake up and face the real world again.

* * *

~H.K~

Yuzuru has been acting strange ever since Tsunayoshi came over to meet our parents. I heard later on from Tsunayoshi that she had told him. That evening was bitter-sweet. We just cuddled together as we sat with each other in silence, both extremely worried. Tsunayoshi wouldn't understand what pain I am going through every time I look at Yuzuru. The only thing I see recently is her cold, dead body, lying so still in a coffin. I try to keep it in, but I just have to let it out once in a while. The first time being when I was with Tsunayoshi that evening after taking him home.

"Ne, Kyouya-san?" he asked. "Hm?" I responded. "Why is it that every time you look at Yuzuru-chan, you get a look in your eyes as if one of your most treasured people is already gone?" he asked. I stilled and stiffened at that question. "You wouldn't understand," I said stiffly. I felt his hand tightening around mine and before long he bristled with anger. It rarely happened and even then I had wondered how people could get him mad. I had found out and I regretted it. "I wouldn't understand? I WOULDN'T POSSIBLY BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND?!" he asked while yelling at me. I could hear his mother asking him if things were alright, but the little baby calmed her down.

He narrowed his eyes at me, looking very dangerous. "What you are doing when you look at Yuzuru-chan is unfair and you know it. You spend ever second you have left with her as if she is already dead. I can see it in your eyes, that you are basically giving up, and don't try to deny it!" he said as an afterthought when I tried to say something. "I know you are hurting, I am too although not as much as you. I love Yuzuru-chan just as much as you do, but I do not know her as long as you do. Out of everyone in the entire world, you should be able to understand her more than anyone else and yet you are hurting her more by seeing her as someone who is going to die. She knows she is dying and it doesn't help her feel any less guilty that the one she holds dearest in the entire world is hurting because she is dying. How do you think she feels? Every time she looks into your eyes and all she sees is sorrow? She can barely stand it," he said.

I was shocked. "How do you know what she is thinking?" I asked. He gave me a pointed look. "She has to talk to someone about her problems doesn't she? I just happened to be near her when she was crying her eyes out about it. Yuzuru-chan may seem strong and accepting of her fate, but that doesn't mean that she isn't afraid. Every time you look at her and see her dead, she is reminded of what she will be like in less than a year. She can't even see us graduate. How do you think that makes her feel? So man up and love her until the very last second, because the one hurting the most right now is Yuzuru-chan," he said. I was crying by the end of his story and he took me in his arms. I don't think I have ever cried in front of anyone but Yuzuru and I knew I never would. Tsunayoshi is the only exception to that promise. I don't know what I would do without him.

I lie on my bed as I stare at my ceiling. I've changed the way I am looking at her, but I can't help but feel that she is hiding something from me. Whatever it is that she is hiding from me has to be something absolutely horrifying, because she is a bad liar. She must really not want me finding out. I get a funny and nauseating feeling in my stomach every time I try to figure out what it is she is hiding. Something bad, without a doubt. The only thing that could destroy me after Yuzuru dying would be... Tsunayoshi, dy-...No, absolutely not. I will not let that happen. I clench my fist as I try to think about what Yuzuru's secret could have to do with Tsunayoshi dying? A sickness? Not very likely, he would have told me about that. And even if he wouldn't have told me about it, the baby would have given me some indication that there was something wrong with Tsunayoshi.

Then what could it be? My eyes widen in realization. An assassination and judging from the way Yuzuru is spaced out most of the time, I can easily say that the time of it is nearing. I breathe out deeply through my nose and close my eyes. I strengthen my will and determination. No way am I going to let another person I hold dear die while I can't do anything about it. I open my eyes and stand up from my bed. The first thing I need to do is confirm my theory with Yuzuru. I just hope she will tell me the truth.

* * *

~K.Y.~

I sigh as I look out of the window in the classroom. The time is nearing and I can feel butterflies forming in my stomach at the thought of the assassination. I know his name; Reborn gave me it yesterday. Baldovino Benigno. How fitting for a man who has done nothing wrong. I really need to speak to him to find out who is behind all the attacks on Vongola and who would try to kill Tsunayoshi. It's not going to be Baldovino. Just one look at his picture and I could see that he never meant for any of this to happen. Poor kid, only twenty years old and already being hunted by the most gruesome Mafia Famiglia in the world. I have got to pull him out of the dark. He doesn't deserve what he went through. He is special and just very misunderstood. I hope that I have time to teach him how to deal with his gift.

I get pulled out of my musings as the bell rings, signalling the end of class. I sigh as I change my books from history to English, the door opens and everyone stills. I find that odd, never is my class silent unless there is someone there that they fear. I sweat drop as I realize that the only one they fear here at school is Kyou-nii. I turn around and away from the window to take a look at my brother. He looks devastated, yet determined. I look at Tsunayoshi and then back at Kyou-nii. They must have had a talk, otherwise Kyou-nii wouldn't look like that. I have noticed that there is much less pain and sorrow in his eyes and I remind myself to thank Tsunayoshi for that later. There is only one person who can get through Kyou-nii when he gets that upset about me and that is his lover.

"Yuzuru, I need to talk to you," he says in a quiet voice and I raise an eyebrow. He just looks away and turns around. I stand up with a sigh and follow him out of the classroom. The whole room is silent and the moment I close the door and turn to look at Kyou-nii, who is standing against the wall across from me, the whole room bursts out into whispers and exclamations of wonder as to why Hibari Kyouya would want to talk to me. I roll my eyes at my classmates' childish behaviour. I expect Kyou-nii to huff in annoyance as he always does when others are talking about him, but he just keeps silent as he looks at me.

"Please, be honest with me, Yuzuru. I don't think I can handle you lying to me again," he says with pleading eyes. I gulp; I hate it when he can see right through me. "What is it, Kyou-nii?" I softly ask. He breathes in deeply and closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them and looks at me my breathe stills. "Is the reason why you are being so secretive and spaced out because there is a chance that something might happen to Tsunayoshi?" I stiffen and with that I have already given him my answer. He closes his eyes in pain and steps away from the wall. I expect him to walk away to his office to think about what he found out just now; but instead he walks towards me and pulls me into a hug. "Were you afraid I might break if I were to find out a possible assassination is going to take place?" he quietly asks. I numbly nod my head. I was afraid that it would break him, of course, and then I feel him rub circles on my back in an attempt to comfort me. It works.

"Silly little sister," he says. Although I can't see him, I can feel him smile in my hair. "You of all people should know I am stronger than that. Besides, Tsunayoshi is an up-and-coming Mafia Boss. His entire life is danger. And I will be there beside him the entire time," he says with so much determination that I find myself almost face palming at my idiotic behaviour. "Sorry," I murmur into his shoulder. He pats my head as he lets go and simply smiles at me. "No harm done, just tell me when it's going to happen, alright? I want to be near Tsunayoshi," he says and I can't help but feel hope. Hope that maybe, everything will turn out just fine. And in the back of my head there is a voice, silently telling me that there might be some shocking things I had not counted on, but I can't help but feel that those shocking findings aren't bad in the slightest.

When I return back to the classroom, the entire class, apart from Tsunayoshi, is asking me questions about my relationship with Kyou-nii. "Are you his lover?" "Why did he look so, so human!?" "Is there something about him that we should know?" "What is your relationship with Hibari-sama?" they ask and I need to keep me face straight otherwise I might just throw up. It seems that Kyou-nii does have a fan club, one run by a lot of morbid fan girls. Even Takeshi and Hayato look at me curiously. It is Tsunayoshi who tries to save me from fainting; please read the stress on tries. "Everyone, I think you are choking her," I hear him say weakly. They look at him like he has grown a second head, but don't let go. I'm nearing my end here and I am seething inside as I hear a reply from one of Kyou-nii's fan girls. "And what do you think about their relationship, Dame-Tsuna? Surely a pathetic girl like this can't be Hibari-sama's lover?" a girl with a pretty face says in a snobby voice. The room temperature suddenly drops and most of my classmates let go of me. I stare at Tsunayoshi in fascination as he glares at our classmates.

"Okay, first of all; apologize to Yuzuru-chan. She is a year older than us and therefore our senpai. Show some respect! Second of all; Kyouya-san would be absolutely furious when he hears what you just said about his little sister and last of all, but not least," he says as his eyes roam over everyone in the classroom, "You should get the idea out of your head that you even remotely have a chance at getting his heart. He may be acting more _human_ lately, but his heart already belongs to someone else and they will not stand for it if you were to try and get in their way," he says with an icy smile. He closed his eyes for that special effect. I snigger at the frozen faces of my classmates. One stupidly (brave?) boy dares to respond to him. "Oh yeah, and who might this person be then, Tsuna?" he asks. I notice how he didn't insult Tsunayoshi. I look at his legs and see that his knees are shaking. I smirk as I look back at Tsunayoshi; who looks downright murderous right now. "Me and I will rip your face off if you even as much as dare to look at Kyouya in any kind of way," he says as he drops his smirk. I hear a thud and notice that the poor boy who asked the question has passed out. My poor, poor, (sarcasm) poor classmates just realized that Tsunayoshi is not someone to mess with; especially when it comes to his loved ones. They really should've realized sooner. Can't say that I didn't enjoy this show though. I grin as Tsunayoshi gives me a thumbs up with that sexy smirk of his. My grin only widens as the teacher steps into the classroom wondering what the hell happened here.

I don't remember falling asleep but when I open my eyes, I wake up next to Mukuro and Chrome-san. It's been nearly a week since Chrome-san came up with our plan and I have been coming here ever since. I can't say we've bonded to the point where my bond with them is as strong as the bond Mukuro and Chrome-san have, but I can definitely say that we have a strong bond. I don't think that Kyou-nii should find out about that any time soon. "Good night, sleeping beauty," Mukuro says with a grin on his face. I give him a tired smile in return, but Mukuro doesn't seem to mind. I lie down on the grass and listen to Mukuro and Chrome-san laughing quietly. "Aha~, I'm going to miss it," I say. "What are you going to miss, Yuzuru?" Mukuro asks. "You and Chrome-san flirting with each other," I say as I crack open an eye. Both of them are blushing madly and I grin at them. "Make sure that the wedding is a memorable one okay?" I ask. Mukuro laughs nervously and Chrome-san merely blushes madly and nods quietly. I feel myself waking up again and I sigh. "Well today is the day, or you both ready?" I ask. They stop with whatever they are doing and look at me seriously. "We are," the say simultaneously. I nod with satisfaction and sigh one last time. I've noticed that I sigh a lot these days. It must be because I still have so many regrets. Well, can't do anything anymore about that. "See you guys in six hours," I say as I open my eyes.

I knock on Kyou-nii's door and wait for a reply. When I hear him hum I open it and walk towards Kyou-nii. I stop in front of him as he is sitting at his desk, reading a book. He looks up from his book and takes of his reading spectacles. "It's today, in approximately six hours," I say. He gives me a small smile and closes his book. I nod grimly and walk out of the door again. I try my best not to be so depressed, but I can't help it. As I walk into the dining room, I see mom has already made me breakfast. I can't help but smile a small smile as I see what she made me. It's like she knows that I am feeling down and scared. The toast is coated with butter and on the side there is cheese, ham and strawberry jam to choose from. She has poured me a glass of milk and on a separate plate are my favourite fruits; apple, banana and peach all lined up and looking sparkly. I can feel tears stinging in my eyes, but I wipe them away as I sit down. "Itadakimasu," I say as I take a bite from my toast. "Delicious," I murmur to myself. It's like a death meal and I can't help but feel the tears stream down my face. Thank god that mom and dad already left. I hear Kyou-nii come down the stairs. He doesn't say anything about my tears as he sits across from me and silently eats his breakfast. I can see that he too is having trouble keeping his emotions in check, but he is holding up better than I am; I can't even taste the sweet strawberry jam anymore because of my salty tears.

The walk to school is quiet. I have already calmed down; it wouldn't do any good if I came to school with red, puffy eyes. I don't want to worry Tsunayoshi. Although I think he already knows something dreadful is going to happen. I walk into the classroom to see that I am quite early. I close my eyes and sit at my desk, taking out my English books and notes. Four hours of school and then Tsunayoshi will get a text message telling him that someone wants to talk to him in private. It concerns the Vongola. I know that he will immediately leave after the fourth bell rings to find this person. I too shall follow him. Hayato will as well and I'm sure Kyou-nii will already be at the meeting place. Standing in the dark, covered by Mist Flames will be Mukuro and Chrome-san. I breathe through my nose as I think about what to tell Takeshi. Then he walks into the classroom. I stand up from my desk and walk straight towards him. "I need to ask you a favour," I say very quietly. He nods his head and listens. "After fourth period, Tsunayoshi is going to leave; Hayato and I are coming with him. We need someone to cover for us as we leave school. After school is over, or after lunch, please try and see if you can get Ryouhei-senpai and then go to this place," I say as I shove a small paper into his hands. "I don't know what will have happened when you arrive, but please be prepared for the worst," I say with serious eyes. I give him a small smile as he nods back as well.

I was right, of course I am. The fourth bell rings, signalling the end of class. As soon as the teacher leaves, Tsunayoshi runs out the door. I look at Takeshi and Hayato and nod my head. This is it. They both nod their heads as well and Hayato and I leave the classrooms as well. We both run towards the abandoned factory, just outside of Namimori. When we arrive Tsunayoshi is already there, talking to Kyou-nii in what looks like a heated argument. It seems that Tsunayoshi doesn't appreciate being left in the dark. "That's my fault, Tsunayoshi-san," I say as I approach the two. "Besides, Kyou-nii didn't know until he asked, three days ago," I explained. "That's right, Dame-Tsuna," a squeaky voice says. We turn around and I hear Tsunayoshi sigh exasperated. "Of course Reborn is here, he always is," he mutters quietly. I chuckle softly, but don't respond. Reborn looks me straight in the eye and I can see he knows that Mukuro and Chrome-san are here. I shake my head, indicating that he shouldn't ask. He sighs but doesn't ask. "Well then Tsunayoshi-san, how about we go in?" I ask. As we walk in, Chrome-san casts an illusion. She casts it over everyone but me and I slow down. As the rest walks around the corner to the left, I stop and turn around, going right. I nod towards Chrome-san and she smiles at me. I walk towards the back room where I know Baldovino is waiting and see that Mukuro is already waiting by the door.

"You ready?" I ask. He nods his head as he opens the door for me. "You are not Sawada Tsunayoshi," a male voice says. I see someone standing in the dark, only his legs are visible. But I can feel a lot more people, hiding, waiting for an ambush. I take my time looking around, completely ignoring the male in front of me. "Hey! Listen to me when I am talking to you, girly!" he yells at me. I glance at him from the corner of my eye, before I turn my head around to face him. "And why should I tell someone who I am, when said man is standing in the dark, hiding himself. A bit of a disadvantage, isn't it?" I respond. I can feel that he is starting to feel irritated. "Where is the Decimo and don't lie to me, squirt!" he barks at me. I roll my eyes. "Okay first; you're never going to get that answer out of me if you are being so rude to me. A little bit of patience wouldn't be bad either. Also, why do you assume I know him?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. This is going quite alright, I had expected him to be more violent towards me. Then the air around the man shifts and I side step, avoiding bullets and knives hurled at me. I turn back to him and let my eyes darken for a bit before I give him a creepy smile. "Why did you do that? I thought you wanted answers," I say 'innocently'. Then I take a step forward and throw the first punch.

Never let it be told to you that I can't fight. I told you before I know self-defence, but that I was just too lazy and that my body too fragile. It was half of the truth. Most of the time I don't know how to hold back, so in the end I will have defeated the enemy, but I'll also land myself in the hospital. In this case it doesn't matter; the only thing I have to do is keep a time limit onto our spar and make sure I can get to him before the time runs out. Not that I'll be tired, no, but because there is still a whole army behind Baldovino. Besides I know that the real culprit behind everything is here as well. And I have a sneaking suspicion that this person knows about Baldovino's gift as well. Which is why he or she put the blame on him.

I run forward very fast and hit Baldovino square in the face. I hear a crack and see that I broke his nose. I immediately back off as a kick comes my way. I duck and roll to the left, avoiding a leg and an arm. I stand up and run forward again. I give three short thrusts forward and hit him three times in his lower abdomen. I feel him harden his abdomen at the second thrust and when I put forward my third thrust I kicked my knee upward, into his crotch. He groans in pain, but doesn't fall down. I run back to where I stood when I came in and still my breathing. I let some Mist Flames swirl around me and calm my racing heart with a little amount of Rain Flames. I can feel that Reborn is getting impatient, but I know he won't be able to find us yet. Chrome-san is doing great. Then I feel someone coming towards me at a fast pace. I jump back twice and run towards the left, nearing the window. As I stop in front of it time seems to slow down. There are no sounds whatsoever; the only thing I can hear is Baldovino's short puffs. As he walks towards me I take a good look at his face. I can see that he is feeling reluctant. I widen my eyes as I realize that he is being manipulated. "Mukuro find the source!" I yell at Mukuro. He must know what I am talking about as he immediately disappears into Mist Flames, without a doubt looking for the real culprit. I turn back the Baldovino who has stopped a few feet in front of me.

"I can help you, though I do not have much time left," I say. I can see his shoulders tense, but I continue on explaining. "You have these visions, dreams, so real that you often wonder if you are even dreaming. Sometimes you wake up with real wounds you got when you were asleep. Then when you go through the day, you notice certain people who were in your dream. At first it was just that; when you were asleep you got these visions. However your gift has started to grow stronger and now you are receiving visions when you are awake and it is disrupting your reality. The real culprit has knowledge about this and uses whatever it is you see against you. You are too kind-hearted for this world Baldovino Benigno and evil people like your boss take advantage of that. Please break free from the spell; Vongola knows you didn't do it. I already told them," I say. His eyes had widened along the course of my explanation. "H-how?" he stammers. I give him a sad smile. "Because you asked for help by sending me whatever you saw. I get information daily and everything is stored away or cleared out without me knowing. The only things that I can process are things that are 'sent' to me with high urgency. Like your telepathic message. I heard it loud and clear," I say with a kind smile. His mask breaks down and he cries tears of happiness. I walk forward to pull him into a hug. "You're not alone anymore," I say as I turn us around. Then everything went downhill.

* * *

~R.~

The moment we are around the corner I feel that we are in an illusion. I mentally curse. I turn around to see that Yuzuru isn't there anymore. I curse even more. I mean, come on! Yuzuru obviously knew from the moment we met that this was going to happen and I still fell for it! "Reborn? Is something wrong?" Tsuna asks. I turn back to look at him and I have to hide my surprise. Standing next to Tsuna is Yuzuru. She looks a little off. My eyes widen as I realize that it's actually Chrome. She gives me a sign to keep quiet. I narrow my eyes, but she just shakes her head. 'I'll explain later' she signs. I sigh but keep quiet anyway. "There is nothing wrong, Dame-Tsuna," I say with conviction but Tsuna looks at me suspiciously. I have to give it to the boy, his intuition is getting better. "Are you sure?" he asks. I kick him in the head. "Are you doubting me?" I ask threateningly. He squeaks and shakes his head. "Good, that would be a foolish thing to do, wouldn't it?" I ask 'innocently'. Tsuna pales and I smirk. His intuition may be getting better but that doesn't give him any reason to question everything.

As the minutes pass by I start getting impatient. We've been going in a loop for the past two corridors and I see that Hibari is noticing too. Neither Gokudera nor Tsuna seem to notice something is wrong. Chrome looks like she is having a hard time. I see that she is starting to walk slower and I move to walk next to her. "Are you okay? Keeping up an illusion like this is very hard," I say. She nods her head, but I can see that she is having difficulties. "Care to tell me why you are doing this?" I ask. Chrome hesitates for a little while, before she nods. "Alright, but please be quiet as I tell you okay? Don't interrupt me, it might cost us valuable time," she says. I wonder why time is so valuable that she can't afford to answer any questions I might have. But I refrain from asking as Chrome gives me a pointed look. I sigh as she starts telling her story softly.

"About at the same time that you took Yuzuru-san to visit us and she pissed off Mukuro-sama, she told Mukuro-sama about what she had seen a week prior to then. She explained everything, about who she is and what she can do. She asked us to help her and we agreed. What we wanted to help her with, was taking Sawada's place," she says. I feel my eyes widen at that. Does that mean that she plans on sacrificing herself? "Yuzuru-san said that if she was going to die anyway, she wanted to do it for someone who does not deserve to die because of a misunderstanding. So we came up with this plan. Distract Sawada long enough to have her talk to Benigno and make sure that by the time everything goes downhill; Sawada will be able to take care of everything else. The only thing Yuzuru-san needs to do is take the bullet and fight off the enemies long enough for the rest of us to have a chance. She knew from the very beginning that there was something very wrong about the whole situation. She told us, when you gave her that picture of Baldovino Benigno, that he was special in a way that made him misunderstand others and others misunderstand him," she says. I can see that she is holding down tears for her friend and I feel an ache in my heart that doesn't want to disappear. Chrome sighs and swallows down her tears. "She is so selfless and even though I know she is going to die anyway, I wish I had more time with her," Chrome says. "I understand what you mean. Yuzuru never should have deserved a fate like that. Her parents were amazing as well, but Yuzuru was special," I say and with that statement Chrome breaks down.

Tsuna turns around before I can help Chrome. "Reborn, I think we're going in circles," he says. "What do y-, what's wrong Yuzuru-chan!?" he asks as he walks back to us. His eyes widen as he realizes that it's a mere illusion and that Chrome is actually standing there instead of Yuzuru. "What is going on?" he asks with a serious voice. I'm surprised; he's not even in Hyper Dying Will Mode and he can be that serious. No time for being (slightly) impressed. More pressing matters right now! "It seems that we were being led around to gain time, or waste it depending on which way you look at it," I say. He looks at me with a confused face and I sigh. "Ju-," I start but I get cut off by another voice yelling. A way too familiar voice. "Mukuro find the source!" before a door opens with a bang and we hear footsteps running down a hallway a floor below. We all take a look at each other and nod. Chrome lets down the illusion and we split up. Gokudera, Tsuna, me and Hibari start walking towards where the sound came from and Chrome towards where Mukuro went.

As we open the door towards the huge storage room we hear a lot of noise and I can smell the blood. We hear lots of bullets being shot and Hibari kicks down the door. As we walk through the door we stare for a second before Hibari runs into the fight head-on. There are a lot of people already knocked unconscious and a couple more fall as Hibari beats them down. "Come on, we've got a job to do," I say as I cover my eyes with my fedora and load my gun. Tsuna swallows his pills and takes out his gloves while Gokudera prepares his bombs and takes out Uri. We walk into what seems like a war zone, but we fight and fight and fight as we know that Yuzuru is somewhere on this battlefield. "Get off of me!" a familiar voice yells. We turn to look at the source and I find myself petrified as time slows down.

A gun goes off and we can only watch as the bullet impales Yuzuru through her stomach. I feel my blood run cold and I hear faint sounds all around me coming back to life. As Yuzuru falls down I feel the tension in the air shift and I shiver. Never have I seen this much murder-intent. And it's coming from both Hibari and Tsuna; though I can feel a third one nearby Yuzuru. I recognize Benigno, but he seems to protect Yuzuru. He notices me, picks up Yuzuru carefully and immediately sprints towards us. Bullets fly him around the head but he makes it without a scratch. "She saved me," he says as he lays her down with me. I heal her as much as I can with my Sun Flames and hope that Benigno is good at defending.

* * *

~K.Y.~

I hear the bullet rather than see it as it passes by us. I release Baldovino and spin around. About ten guys have moved from their hiding spot and two guys are standing behind the boxes, shooting at me. I duck and roll to the side. I hide behind a box and see that Baldovino did the same. I sigh in relief, at least he knows how to avoid getting sniped down. I guess the both of us are more of close-combat fighters than far-range ones. I scan the area for other enemies and I feel myself getting irritated as I notice that there are at least four dozens more of them. Why would one person need so many enemies? Never mind, Tsunayoshi is the soon-to-be-Decimo, shouldn't have asked. I duck as another bullet flies by. I tie my hair in a bun and run to the nearest enemy as fast as I can. I hit him in his neck on a pressure point and knock him out before he has a chance to notice me. I do the same for the other four enemies, but the last one yells and I curse. I turn around as another person snipes at me. I evade the bullet, again, and I run to a box to hide behind.

I look at how Baldovino is doing and I have to say, he knows how to keep himself standing. There are at least ten guys already unconscious and he is fighting against three of them at the same time. I give a low whistle; that's a nice right hook! I shake my head as I concentrate myself on the Flames of the people in this room. Most of them are Storm, Rain and Lightning, but there is an occasional Sun and Cloud. No Mist, which surprises me. I guess that the 'Big Boss' doesn't trust any Mist users, so he prefers to not use them. Don't blame the guy, Mist users are known for being crafty and disloyal.

After I knock down another seven guys I feel the tension in the air shift. The 'Big Boss' has arrived and I assume he isn't pleased with the way things turned out to go. I feel a sweat run down the side of my face. Now it's going to get dangerous. This man, who is standing behind an army of Flame users, is strong and my disadvantage is that I have no idea who he is or what he is capable of. Then the doors slam open and Kyou-nii and company arrive. I sigh in relief, they made it. Neither Chrome-san nor Mukuro are present meaning that they are either hiding somewhere nearby or they ran. Although the latter is highly unlikely, I wouldn't blame it on them if they did run. A couple of bullets fly passed me into the wall and I turn my head to the one who shot them. Kyou-nii and the others can take care of themselves. I need to make sure that the real culprit, dubbed 'Big Boss' by me, will be incapable of hurting Tsunayoshi. Steeling my nerves I head towards where to bullets came from and ready myself for a fight.

It hurts, let me tell you; a bullet through your stomach from up close. I nearly lost my consciousness as he shot me, but I didn't which led to me feeling Baldovino pick me up and Reborn trying to heal me. I feel cold and I know that I have lost a lot of blood. As I see Kyou-nii and Tsunayoshi walk up to 'Big Boss' I smirk inwardly. He may have gotten me in the stomach, but he never realized that I hit him as well. In the neck. The place where I hit him when he had held me by my collar is a place that if hit hard (or soft depending on what you define as hard or soft) enough it gives a delayed reaction. By the time he realizes that he will be paralyzed for a while he won't be able to do anything about it anymore. Best part of all; he won't be able to hurt anyone after this anymore. Tsunayoshi and Kyou-nii will take care of that.

I feel myself fading in and out of consciousness and although Reborn keeps telling me to keep my eyes open, I feel the heaviness becoming too much. Just as I want to close my eyes, I feel like electricity went through my body. Mistake, I made a mistake. My eyes widen and before anyone can do anything I stand up and sprint towards the middle of the room; where I know Chrome-san is standing, defending Tsunayoshi, Kyou-nii, Reborn and Baldovino. She never saw the bullet coming, I did. I run as fast as I can and spring in front of her. Time slows down and I feel a pain shooting across my spine as a bullet impales my spine. As if one bullet through the stomach wasn't enough. I smile weakly at Chrome-san as she looks at me with a mortified expression. The last thing I feel as I fall the ground is warm Flames all around me and a voice telling me it will be fine.

* * *

~H.K.~

My heart stops as I see the real culprit shoot one last bullet. I don't know where he shoots the bullet, but just before he shot his eyes had widened; indicating he had realized something. After the shot he had fallen down into an unconscious heap. Time seems to stop as I look at where the bullet is going. To the middle of the room, where seemingly no one is standing. My eyes widen as I see Mist Flames uncover themselves and Dokuro is revealed. She hasn't realized yet that a bullet is shot at her. I start to run, but I know that no matter how hard I run I won't be able to catch up with a bullet. I can only hope for a miracle. As Yuzuru runs in front of Dokuro to shield her from the incoming blow, I feel my heart break. Tears well up in my eyes but I don't let them fall yet. When I hoped for a miracle, I didn't mean a sacrifice! That idiot! I look at Yuzuru's back as the bullet shoots into her back. Then time flows again and before I know it I reach her. She is losing blood quickly from two different places. Dokuro is crying softly, but it won't be long before she is going into hysterics. We don't need that.

"Oi, Pineapple, take Dokuro out of here, NOW!" I yell through the room. Immediately out of nowhere the illusionist shows up. He looks worn out but determined as he picks up Dokuro into his arms. We share a look and he nods at me as he opens up a path. I can hear sirens and my eyes widen as I realize that he must have called an ambulance. Somewhere in the back of my mind I wonder how he knew we were going to need one, but I shove that away for later. Yuzuru comes first.

Tsunayoshi arrives mere seconds later with the baby on his shoulder. "I'll give her immediate care, right now," he says. I nod as I continue on holding my little sister. I hear Yamamoto and the loudmouth running through the doors as well. Sasagawa takes one look at who I am holding and immediately takes out his box weapon. He runs towards us with Yamamoto right beside him. "I'll help," he says in a serious and low voice. Yamamoto looks around and takes notice of his boyfriend, who is still fighting of enemies. There aren't a lot of them left, but enough to give trouble. He narrows his eyes and takes off to help the bomber. I merely watch for a few moments, before I shift my gaze back to Yuzuru. My vision blurs as tears start to well and before long I silently cry at the sight of my younger sister, cover in blood and holes put through her body. Tsunayoshi sits next to me and squeezes my hand. I return the gesture with one of my hands, as the other is still holding on to Yuzuru.

The paramedics come in and they heave Yuzuru onto a stretcher. "Can I come with you? That is my little sister," I say with a low voice. They nod and sign for me to follow them. Tsunayoshi gives me one last squeeze and tells me he will take care of things here. I nod gratefully and give him a peck on the cheek. He smiles at me weakly and immediately takes off to bind the enemies together. I barely catch the sadistic smile as he stalks off to the boss. I feel no pity whatsoever. If you're in to mafia you should always be prepared for death. You should know when your plans go too far and are unrealistic. This man messed with the Vongola; the biggest and most dangerous Mafia Famiglia in the world. He really should have known that if he were to lose this battle, that he won't die a peaceful death. His own fault.

The ride towards the hospital was stressful to say the least. Yuzuru's heart-rate is going down and the paramedics try everything they can to keep her heart going. The time it takes for us to arrive isn't even five minutes, that's how fast we are going, but it still feels like hours before the doors open and Yuzuru is ridden into the hospital, straight towards the operation room. The surgeons tell me to stay and wait outside. I feel useless and restless as I wait for Yuzuru. I don't know what to do and I can feel myself going into a panic attack. Ironically enough it reminds me of a time when Yuzuru had one of these attacks. I told her exactly what to do to calm down. I try to remember what I told her, but it's not working; I'm too stressed. Just before I start hyperventilating I feel someone hugging me. It's only for a second but it's enough for me to calm down. When I look up there is no one there and I wonder if I was imagining things. I sigh and rest my head in my hands. This was going to be a stressful couple of hours.

Two hours later and Tsunayoshi arrives with my parents. The hospital must have called them. Tsunayoshi immediately takes me into his arms and I return the hug. I feel myself trembling and I can feel tears start to stream down my face but I really, really don't care right now. Even dad is shedding tears, so that means that he is an emotional wreck right now; just like me. My parents sit down next to me on the other side and hold each other. After a couple of minutes I let go of Tsunayoshi and he gives me a sorrowful smile. I turn to my parents and see them waiting for me to come to them. I quite literally throw myself into my mother's arms and cry as I feel my father and mother comfort me. I hear Tsunayoshi talking into a phone. I reckon he is calling his own family to tell them he'll be home later. After another two hours of waiting the sign of 'In operation' turns off and a doctor comes out of it. "We managed to save her, but she is in a coma right now. There is a slight chance she might wake up from it. Even then she will be crippled. We were able to remove a bullet from her spinal cord but it was in too deep, so it damaged the nerves. There is nothing we can do for you anymore," he says with a sorrowful expression on his face.

I feel my parents stiffen at the word 'bullet' and squeeze their hands. 'I'll tell you later' is what I mean with it. They seem to understand and relax a little. "Thank you doctor, for the information," my dad says stiffly. As the doctor nods and leaves we all just stand there for a few seconds, taking in the information. Then Tsunayoshi clears his throat. We turn to look at him and he gives me a small smile. "I assume that the two of you will stay here?" he asks. With a nod from my parents he sighs in relief and explains that I can stay with him and his family for a couple of days. "I refuse to leave you alone. Besides, I really don't want to be alone either," he says and I can't refuse him. I feel reluctant leaving Yuzuru at the hospital, but my parents are with her. So I take Tsunayoshi's hand and we walk home together.

Once we arrive home his mother is already waiting at the door for us. She is holding two cups of tea on a plate and gives us a warm smile as she greets us. "Come in and drink this, it will calm you down." We nod and silently follow her inside. It's quiet in the house and I briefly wonder why. Tsunayoshi asks the question out loud though. Sawada-san turns around and gives us a sad and knowing smile. "I send them out to play with the neighbour kids. I figured that you didn't need all the loudness around the house," she says. "Mom?" "Hm?" "Why?" Tsunayoshi asks. His mother looks at him and sighs. "I know that you are involved in something dangerous, both of you. I can't say I approve and to be honest I don't know what I would have done if that phone call you gave me had come from the hospital instead. Every time you stay away for too long without telling me I wait for a phone call to come and tell me that I need to sign papers because they found my precious baby-boy dead. Murdered. I am not stupid Tsunayoshi and I would really like to know what my only child and his lover are involved in," she says with a quiet voice. There are tears in her eyes, but she isn't shedding them. The woman in front of me is strong and for a moment I admire her determination and love for Tsunayoshi. Said boy sighs as he knows that he has to come clear with his life. "Sit down mom, it might be too shocking for you," he says and we walk to the dining table. We prepare ourselves for a long evening of talking, crying and some yelling. But in the end it will be worth it. Now all I need to do is tell my parents and hope they won't lock me up.

* * *

~K.Y.~

I feel as if I am floating, but I think that might be because of the high dose of morphine the doctors hooked me on. I groan as I try to open my eyes. Keyword; try. It doesn't get any further than a soft flutter of my eyes because my lids still feel too heavy to lift. I sigh as I fall back asleep. To be fairly honest I had expected to die from that second bullet and if not from that than from the blood loss. But because my body feels so heavy and I can twitch my fingers (don't question me I just CAN) I know I am still alive. I mentally sigh; the one time I am prepared to die I am just too stubborn to give up. I give a wry smile; the irony of my situation. I am like pig waiting for slaughter, but still desperate to survive. I guess that is just human nature and even with all the maturity and supernatural things going on in my life, I am still a human teenage girl. I hum as I feel myself drift into a deeper sleep.

I feel a soft breeze as I open my eyes. The sky is so blue; then again it's only like that because I wish it to be. I could make my mindscape any kind of room I want. Usually it's like an office, with miles and miles of computers and storage cabinets. Now it's just the sky and the grass underneath me. I know that at this moment in time, I have lost the ability to gather information and see seconds ahead in time. I feel a single tear slide down the side of my face. Everything I knew, how I lived and what I was is gone in mere seconds. My entire life is gone, the only thing left is me hanging on and barely breathing anymore. I am right-out crying right now. It feels so wrong and it hurts so much to lose myself and everything I was. And yet I feel guilty for feeling so free.

Is it so wrong to have my only wish be granted? I have wanted to be normal for so long, then I get it, and I have to feel guilty because it's not what I imagined? I feel lonely here, I want to see Kyou-nii and Tsunayoshi and Hayato and Takeshi and everyone else. I want to thank them for the amazing last weeks I had with them. I can't do that if I am in a coma now can I? Speaking of which, I think it's time to wake up now. I reach towards the light as it starts getting brighter and brighter in my mindscape. I am still lying on my back in the grass, but I can feel the warm light embrace me and I give a small, teary smile as I feel myself get pulled out of my own mind.

I try to open my eyes a second time and this time I feel next to no reluctance as my eyes flutter open. The first thing I notice is that it's bright, too bright, in my room. I groan as the light hurts my eyes. I hear a gasp and immediately there is someone by my side. I assume it's a nurse because she immediately closes the curtains and returns to my side. "A miracle," I hear her mutter softly. I hum in appreciation for closing the curtains and she puts her nice and cool hand against my slightly warmed forehead. I groan in content at the feeling of something soft against my skin. She chuckles and whispers to me that she is going to notify the doctor of my state of being. I hum in agreement as she leaves the room. It's dead silent in the room but I can hear birds chirping outside my window. I start to hum a lullaby my birth-mother used to hum. I smile at the memory of it.

The door opens again and I open one eye to see who entered. The same woman and another man have entered. They both whisper to me that they need to check up on me. I nod my head in a sign of approval and the doctor starts. He starts by checking my upper body; heart, lungs, head and so on. Then he gets to my legs and I can see him hesitate. I wake a bit more and ask if I can sit up. The nurse helps me sit up and we start with my lower body. My eyes widen as I realize what is wrong with me. I am paralyzed from the waist down, which is why I can't move my legs anymore, nor can I feel them. Tears well up in my eyes, but I don't shed them. I am still alive and I still have time left with my family that is all that matters. The silent question in my head remains though; how long do I have left? "I will notify your family that you have awoken. They are quite worried about you. You were in a coma for nearly a month and we told them that the chances of you waking up were very small. But you woke up, don't worry you'll be fine in the end. I know you will. Otherwise you wouldn't have woken up, right?" the doctor says and I give him a smile while I close my eyes. He has no idea how right he is and how wrong at the same time.

I am drifting off as the door opens. I open my eyes and stare tiredly at the people who entered my room. My eyes widen and I can feel tears streaming down my face. Kyou-nii walks up to me and immediately pulls me into a hug. Standing behind him in the doorway are my parents. "Kyou-nii, mom, dad," I cry as I hold my brother. I think that at a certain point during our hug that I pulled him onto the bed, because he is straddling me. It would have been awkward had we not been family but we are and he is a brother to me as much as I am a sister to him. Doesn't mean that I wouldn't have married him though... I'll leave that up to your imagination. Then mom and dad come up to us and join in on the hugging session. I give a chocked sound as mom nearly strangles me for being so reckless. I realize that they both know about the mafia and I feel that they know more than we think but I let it be. Kyou-nii will find out for me in the future. Speaking of future...

"I have to tell you all something important," I start and all three let go of me to look at me. I breathe in deeply, close my eyes and as I breathe out I open my eyes. "I'm dying in a few days," I say. I feel and see all three of them stiffen. I give them a wry smile. I can see that they are wondering how I know. "I am normal right now, no information, no foreseeing the future and no Flames," I say as I look at all three of them. Kyou-nii stiffens at the word Flames and mom and dad look between the both of us for a second before they hug me again. Kyou-nii is still sitting on my bed in a daze as mom and dad told me that they were going to get some fresh air and me some proper food. I reach out to Kyou-nii and gently squeeze his hand. "Kyou-nii?" I ask. He looks at me and I can see the love and desperation in his eyes. "It's not fair," he says softly as he blinks away the tears. I smile softly at that. "Life isn't fair and I can say in all honesty that there are people out there in the world far worse off than me. Besides these past few weeks have been the greatest of my life so far. What more could I wish for than a loving family, two actually, great friends and memorable moments?" He stays quiet for a moment before silently whispering a word I wanted to say out loud as well. "...Time." I cuddle him and we stay like that until mom and dad have returned. They deliver the food and tell us that they are going to see the Sawada's to tell them about the news. I expect no rest today.

Once our parents have left the room, I turn my attention back to Kyou-nii. "So I see you told mom and dad about the mafia?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. He stiffens as he remembers how it went. He shudders and looks at me with a serious look and determination in his eyes. He grabs my shoulders and holds me tightly. "Don't EVER mention this conversation when they can hear you, okay?" he asks me and I feel slightly freaked out at the crazy look in his eyes. Then I remember how mom reacted when I got bullied and I shudder visibly. Satisfied with my reaction he lets go and stands up from the bed. He grabs my food and gives it to me. We both wait for the others to show up; him reading a book and me eating some solid food after a whole month of liquids.

Knowing I am not going to be able to walk anymore isn't as depressing as I thought it would be. I quite enjoy sitting in a wheelchair actually. That said it doesn't make me feel any better knowing that I am the only one who feels like this. My family and friends all look at me with pity in their eyes and only Kyou-nii knows the real reason why I still smile even though I can't do anything anymore. I can't ask for more than living a little longer, how could I be selfish in wishing I could still walk? Being alive is more than enough for me. So after determining that there was nothing more the doctors could do for me, I discharged myself. Against my parents' wishes. Kyou-nii merely sighed when he saw me waiting for them to get me the hell out of the hospital room. Having ignored our parents, Kyou-nii walked towards me and drove me out of the hospital. Without asking anything our parents followed, but they looked at me with a slightly disapproved look in their eyes. I shrugged and shook my head. My reasons were my own and I wasn't going to tell them any more than they needed to know.

I still feel like that even now as I am sitting at the dining table, having dinner with all my friends and family. It is dead quiet and I am the only one eating. Talk about awkward. I roll my eyes. "If this is going to go on any longer I might as well just leave and eat in my room; just as quiet and much, much less uncomfortable," I say. I hear Kyou-nii snort and Tsunayoshi gives me a weak laugh. My parents sigh and the rest of our company heaves a sigh of relief. I look around the room and take notice of everyone present. I can see that Kyou-nii isn't happy with most of them being here, but he absolutely hates the two Mist Flame users being present. And worse, there on either side of me. I sweat drop as I see Kyou-nii glare at Mukuro who merely laughs in reply. I look at Chrome-san, but she doesn't meet my eyes. I narrow them and roll myself backwards.

Everyone looks at me as I ask Chrome-san to take me for a walk. "If any of you dare to even think about eavesdropping," add a glare towards Mukuro and Kyou-nii," or try and get in my way," see me glare even harder at everyone," I will maim every single one of you present," I finish and I can see everyone take my threat seriously although not everyone knows how serious that threat is. I smile sweetly at Chrome-san. "And you, Chrome-san, will listen to everything I have to say, okay? Without interrupting," I add as she tries to interrupt me. She meekly nods her head and lowers it as she rolls me out of the room and the house. We take a walk through the park behind out house. It's evening and the sun is setting. The stars are coming out and it is still nice and warm. I sigh as we walk along the roads. There are no Sakura left anymore, but the trees are still beautiful.

As we walk I decide to start talking about what I felt when I was in a coma. After my story, which ended about me waking up, I notice we have stopped. I don't look up at Chrome-san, but I can hear her soft sobbing. My eyes soften. "I love my friends and family Chrome-san. Even though we haven't known each other for a long time yet, you are one of my most precious friends. I told you, didn't I? That I was willing to do everything for the sake of my friends' happiness? I meant it, I don't have a future and that means that I will do anything to make sure that my loved ones have one. Fairly honest, I am surprised I even woke up from my coma," I say ending my story. Chrome-san is now full out crying and I turn my head to look at her. "I don't blame you Chrome-san; I merely hope that you'll forgive me for being so selfless and reckless. If it makes you feel better; I would have done it for anyone," I say with a smile. "It doesn't," she says but she is smiling while the tears are streaming down her face. I smile back. "I merely hope that your future will be loving together with Mukuro," I say and I smirk at the blush that appears on her face.

Just before we re-enter the house I stop Chrome-san. "Chrome-san, apart from Kyou-nii no one else knows," I start and I can see that Chrome-san has a feeling that she knows where I am going with my explanation. "The reason why I woke up in the first place, without any Flames or the power to gather information, is probably to say goodbye, I am dying Chrome-san and from the looks of it I'd say; two days left," I say not looking at Chrome-san. I can hear her cry and before long the front door opens and Mukuro comes running out. One look at my grim face and Chrome-san's tear stained face and realization dawns on his face. "I don't think I need to know why you both look like this," he says with a strained smile on his face.

Neither of us responds. I take the wheels and roll myself inside. I roll towards the dining room and loudly bang open the door. "Dinner is over, I will see you all tomorrow," I say. Kyou-nii raises an eyebrow. "Where do you plan on meeting them?" I give him a look that says 'are you an idiot?' "Obviously at school, where else would I go?" He glares at me. "You're not going!" he hisses at me. I narrow my eyes. "Wanna bet?" I challenge him. We hold a glaring contest while the others move to get the hell out of our house. Tsunayoshi gives us a last wary look and gives a silent goodbye before he shuts the door behind him.

I sigh as I break eye-contact with Kyou-nii. He seems to think he has won but I am not finished yet. "I am dying Kyou-nii and the last thing I want is to be stuck in this house because of the wheelchair. I want what little time I have left to spend with the people I love," I beg him. I see him jump slightly and I can't help but feel a little guilty. I hadn't wanted to pull this card, but I wanted to spend the last of my short life at a place where I can meet everyone I love. He sighs and gives in. I give him a teary smile. "Thanks, Kyouya," I say. His head shoots up at the mention of his full name. I rarely use his full name. By using it, it means that I am either serious or sincere. In this case I am both. He stares at me for a while before he walks towards me and hugs me tightly. He gives me a kiss on the forehead and pulls me out of the wheelchair. He walks me up the stairs and puts me in bed. I was already wearing my pyjamas during dinner so I don't need to change my clothes anymore. Just before Kyou-nii walks out the room he turns of the light and looks back at me. "I love you Kyou-nii," I say and I can see him smile. "Love you too, now sleep," he says and he switches off the light and closes the door.

"Why hello there, little one," Mukuro says as I open my eyes. I give him a toothy grin and take his offered hand. "It's been a while I reckon," I say as I look at the dreamscape Mukuro and I share. Chrome-san isn't here I notice. "Ah, Chrome wasn't feeling well enough to see you," Mukuro says with an apologetic smile. I return his smile and wave his concern away. "No harm done, I just hope she'll be at school tomorrow," I say. "So you managed to convince your overprotective brother?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. "Don't underestimate me," I say with a smirk. I don't think Mukuro knows how to react to that one, but he just gives me a smirk in return.

"So how many days left?" he asks. I count them on one hand. "Three at best. I can already feel myself getting weaker and I feel the life pouring out of me at a high rate. I don't think I'll be able to go to school on my last day," I answer truthfully. Mukuro looks a little sad as I say this. "Don't feel bad; just make sure I don't get forgotten, okay? Have a nice wedding with Chrome-san!" I yell as I wake up. The last thing I see before I wake up is Mukuro blushing very hard. I chuckle as I sit up in bed. The two make such a good pair. Takeshi and Hayato, Kyou-nii and Tsunayoshi, Mukuro and Chrome-san, I can see Lambo-kun and I-Pin-chan together as well. I hope for Bianchi and Reborn to be able to have a relationship as well. The only problem would be there physical age difference. Maybe Reborn will be lucky and by some miracle be able to grow up twice as fast until he's reached the age he had before he was babyfied.

I can feel the stares, but I deliberately ignore them. I guess they're surprised that I am in a wheelchair. I sigh as I reach the school grounds. Kyou-nii is waiting at the porch. I can hear the students whisper about how I am going to be beaten to death because I disrespect Namimori this way. I roll my eyes; can they get even more unbelieving? Apparently they can, because one boy is stupid enough to try and get me away from Kyou-nii when I am already standing, sitting really, next to Kyou-nii. The boy runs though because Kyou-nii gives him a glare that would make anyone wish they went to hell for vacation instead. Then he looks at me and gives me a smile. I can feel everyone around me shiver (in excitement or fear I don't know) and I can feel a murderous aura nearing us. "Good morning Kyouya-san, Yuzuru-chan," Tsunayoshi says. I gulp; today is the second time I have seen Dark Tsunayoshi. I had hoped last time would be the first and last time. My prayers weren't heard apparently. "G-good morning, Tsunayoshi-san," I reply. "Hn," Kyou-nii hums. Tsunayoshi's eyebrow is now twitching at the luscious looks Kyou-nii is getting (he is still looking angelic, because of the smile on his face) and I can see his patience is wearing thin. A gulping noise from one the boys nearby sets him of and Tsunayoshi grabs Kyou-nii by the arm, drags him towards himself and kisses him fully on the mouth.

The scene would have been hilarious with Kyou-nii's eyes widening in surprise and the blush appearing on his eyes. With all the students fainting at the picture of a sadistic (and smexy) Tsunayoshi kissing Kyou-nii on the mouth and... is that a tongue!? Okay, not going there, my fujoshi-radar is going crazy! Please someone, anyone, get me out of here! Then the bell rings and Tsunayoshi lets go. A thin string of saliva connects the two and Kyou-nii slides to the ground. He looks dazed and Tsunayoshi looks satisfied with his result. He notices me staring at him and we keep a silent staring-contest. "Yep, definitely the seme in the relationship," I say with a sigh as I roll myself through the doors. Just before I reach the shoe lockers I look back and yell: "Kyou-nii, the peace of Namimori has been disrupted, you do realize this don't you?" The look of horror on Tsunayoshi's face as he realizes just what he did and the realization of my literally throwing him to a wild beast is totally worth the guilt I feel as Kyou-nii wakes up from his stupor. I am a mean and crazy bitch, who plots nearly everything, but they still care for me. How odd...

It's lunch time and everything has been taken care of. The teachers all think I will be transferring to a new school and I told all my friends to come to the roof for lunch where I am going to tell and explain to them what has really been going on for the past few weeks. I fear for their reaction and I can only hope that Kyou-nii is already here. I finally reach the rooftop (don't ask me how, I never knew we even had an elevator in this building!?) and I open the door hesitantly. I sigh as there isn't anyone here yet. That is apart from Kyou-nii. I see Hibird flying around in circles above one specific spot on the roof, so I guess that Kyou-nii is snoozing there.

I just reached the end of the roof when the door opens and all my friends come up. They already see me waiting for them and walk up to me. They greet me and Takeshi heaves me out of my wheelchair so that we can all sit together and enjoy our lunch. Although, seeing as what I am about to tell them, they won't be enjoying their lunch. The girls can already see that there is something wrong. Kyoko asks me if I am fine and Hana and Haru merely look worried. Chrome-san already knows what is wrong and I can see the tears welling in her eyes. "There is something I need to tell you guys and I don't think you're going to like it at all," I say. I see Kyou-nii walk up to us and he stops behind me. He sits down and pulls me between his legs. He hugs me from behind I feel safe and protected. I breathe in deeply and quickly puff the air out again. "Okay, so here is how it all started," I begin. I know that Kyouko and Haru already know about the mafia and I figured that by the way Ryouhei was looking at Hana all the time that she knows as well.

Throughout the entire story, no one spoke a word. I told them about my life before I became Kyou-nii's little sister, about my family's decease and about my ability. I told them about what had been going on with the Vongola, but I never tell anyone what my involvement was with Tsunayoshi and they don't ask. Then I tell them about what the real reason was for me planning everything out. I hear collective gasps and the girls are now crying. Both Takeshi and Hayato look so hurt that I can't help but feel my heart rip apart. And then there is Tsunayoshi, sweet, dear, Tuna-fishy. I can't see his face because his bangs are covering them. Then he looks up and I can feel my tears stream free.

He doesn't look hurt, or betrayed, just extremely sad. He looks at me with adoration and love and merely hugs me. "I am going to miss you, but never forget you, Yuzuru," he says and I nearly scream out the tears and fears and frustrations. Then everyone joins in and I can feel that they all care for me. They will get over my death, never forget and always remember me. Never in my entire life have I been this grateful to be alive and I'll be damned if I say that I do not regret anything. Life isn't fair and someone always has to pay for something someone else did. I am not saying that you should accept that, I am saying that you should fight for what is right and for what you love. You just need to keep in mind that you might hurt others with that belief. I did and that is what I regret; not remembering that there will always be someone who will remember me.

I thank you for listening to my story and I can in all honesty say that even though I have regrets, I can die in peace. And who knows, maybe I'll be back sooner than you think?

* * *

 **A/N – Well that is the end of this story. To be honest I started this story with the idea in mind that Yuzuru had to die. Somewhere along the way I started doubting my choice and thought to myself: 'Maybe Shamal can cure her...?' Then I berated myself. No matter how much of a miracle doctor Shamal may be, he can't cure something hereditary like this, especially not when Yuzuru was already this close to dying. So Yuzuru died. I don't plan on making a sequel for this story, but there will come a series of extra scenes; some scene who didn't make it into the story and some explanations on the background of certain scenes. I hope you'll like the surprise I am planning for you. I won't be starting the extras any time soon though. Summer vacation just started here and I plan on writing my other story 'Time Paradox' in my spare time. I think it's time for me to wrap that story up as well. I thank you all for taking your time to read this ridiculously long one shot. I realize now that I really shouldn't write one shots with a character like Yuzuru; they become too long... If there are any grammar mistakes please notify me. If I made a mistake with the proverbs or sayings that may appear here please tell me as well; English is not my native tongue, so some sayings and proverbs may be directly translated from Dutch and therefore may be odd. Thank you for those who read, faved and followed this story when I was already uploading it! Until next time!**


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